Maze Runner: Death Cure Movie Rewrite
by Liquidator309
Summary: Thomas has a nightmare where he sees events to come. Images of Last City falling, Newt becoming a Crank, and Teresa falling into fire shock him awake. If he chooses to believe it, what will he do? Who would he save? And what would he be willing to sacrifice along the way? Follows the Scorch Trials Finale based on that canon in AU. Thomesa? Yes, lots.
1. Chapter 1

_(What follows is part one of a Death Cure rewrite based on movie canon. This takes place months after the Scorch Trials Finale: Movie Alternate Ending in the same alternate universe timeline. Special thanks to Gwtwfancaro for all the help in collaboration. I do not own Maze Runner. Updated with minor revisions 4/21/19)_

* * *

Thomas and the others had been tracking WCKD for months. Analysis of prior prisoner transports confirmed that if Minho were still alive, they'd be moving him by rail. Thomas was the first to pinpoint the area for their ambush based on its proximity to the mountains which they could use for cover. But the best news yet was that his entire team had arrived a day ahead of schedule. That meant a good night sleep before hopefully, they reunited with Minho and the rest of their friends. Thomas had been cheating on sleep for weeks by this time and reveled in the chance to sleep for a full seven hours before they'd all need to get in position for the elaborate heist. He couldn't know as he laid down in his hammock strung between parked vehicles that his sleep would be anything but restful. Thomas no more than shut his eyes when he began dreaming.

He saw himself and the others taking the train with Jorge's hijacked berg flying overhead, and himself hooking up the cable to the first car as planned.

Flash to opening the prisoner transport.

 _*No Minho.*_ The vivid morass of his dreamscape spun forward.

Flash to the view of the outside of a tunnel. Newt's speaking.

"If I was a Crank that's where I'd be."

Thomas blinked his eyes, and the vision replaced itself with the distant view of the walled megalopolis; Last City.

Suddenly his view blurs as if hurtling forward and he is walking with the others through a crowd of protesters outside the city walls. Thomas looks back and forth sensing he's being watched.

 _*They're following us.*_

Thomas looks up at the Massive walls as missile fire begins to rain down. They are captured one by one as they fled and taken to some abandoned parking garage, forced down to their knees as a man moved front and center pulling off his mask.

 _*Gally?!*_

Flash to the image of Newt sitting at the edge of a roof. He rolls up his sleeve confirming he's infected. He speaks.

"I ain't afraid of dying Tommy, just losing myself."

The visions shifts to a small frame as viewed through a telescope.

 _*Teresa...*_ Even as he slept, Thomas felt his heart beat faster to see her again.

The visions began to speed up. As the pace increased, the images got darker.

Minho being tortured...

A sick little girl with spidered vein across her face screaming and thrashing...

A disfigured man fomenting and angry crowd...

Thomas' view suddenly cut to a massive explosion at the wall. Followed by more in the city streets as a rolling war consumes Last City...

The images halt with a scene of Newt's eyes going dark as the humanity drains from him. He's lost himself to Flare. Newt charges at him with black bile coming from his mouth. Thomas tries to escape but Newt's reckless charge leaves him impaled on Thomas' knife. Now the life drains from his eyes...

Flash to Thomas is standing with Ava at gunpoint.

"You can save us all." She says.

Thomas hears Ava's words and sees the truth in her eyes. He's the cure WCKD has been searching for all along. A single shot rings out, and she falls dead. He looks up to see Janson staring back at him. Something about this moment feels different than the rest of the vision. Thomas feels like he's the one being watched...

The image shifts and his nightmare slides into its final frame.

Thomas is looking at Teresa's face again. She's trying to reach him. He can feel her terror as gravity rips them apart. He feels the moment engulf him as she falls further from his fingertips wreathed in flame. Thomas awakes in the same scream that was pouring from his mouth as he helplessly stretched out his hand knowing he was losing her...

The vision ends.

* * *

Thomas snaps back into reality. He's in a cold room made of beige stone listening to complaints from his half-awake friends at being disturbed by Thomas' yelling.

The next thing Thomas saw was Brenda's face.

"Thomas! Thomas, it's just a bad dream."

Thomas took several deep breaths as he sat up slowly feeling the terror subside. As he grounded himself more moment by moment his heart rate slowed almost to normal.

"Yea... Yea I guess that's all it was. A bad dream..."

"Wanna talk about?" Brenda seemed cheerful for a girl who'd just woken up needlessly.

Over the months on the road, Thomas and Brenda had grown quite close but never more than friends. Thomas was fond of her, as she was of him but after the events in the scorch, he was more confused than ever.

"Not tonight Brenda. I-I think I'm just going to go for a run."

Thomas stood and searched his pocket pulling out a shiny silver coin, squeezing it in his fist. Brenda glanced up at Thomas with a knowing look, seeing the coin in his hand. Suddenly she felt the swarming heat of jealousy as she pictured Tom with Teresa. She'd figured out Tom's affinity for Teresa's broken button months ago even if Thomas didn't know she had. As if the keepsake Thomas treasured more than water in the desert wasn't bad enough the reality that Teresa still had a hold on Thomas even after her betrayal made Brenda fume. Teresa treated Thomas like her birthright and still managed to get away with it. Thomas always played mad in front of his friends, but deep down Brenda knew Tom could always find a way to see past anything Teresa had done wrong.

"You sure that's a good idea?"

Brenda let her question's dual meaning hang in the air for several moments watching Thomas twirl the coin through his fingers. She continued.

"Going running I mean. It's the middle of the night."

"I like running; it helps me think."

Brenda stood and walked in front of the door blocking the exit stairs which lead outside.

"You know what else helps people think? Talking." Brenda grinned at Thomas.

He had to admit that Brenda was attractive. She was intelligent, fit, and most importantly Thomas had no reason to doubt how she felt about him. She'd come on strong at first but after hearing Thomas tell her; "You're not her." She seemed determined not to make the same mistake again. Some combination of her respect for him and her respect for herself had blockaded any further attempt to change the nature of their relationship. So that was it. They were just friends. Brenda continued.

"Sooo, what do you say you skip the midnight run and settle for a walk with a friend?"

Thomas smiled. For a moment he forgot all about the nightmare he just had.

"Sure... I guess that'd be alright."

Brenda looked surprised but delighted to have her invitation accepted.

"Great! let me get my shoes."

Moments later she returned. Brenda led Thomas outside, and they start walking under a night sky veiled with wispy high altitude clouds.

"So I've been sleeping near you for months and have never known you to wake up screaming from a bad dream. What's up?"

Thomas sighed.

"It's weird, and this is going to sound crazy but, it didn't feel like a dream Brenda."

"Well Thomas, you were asleep. What else could it have been?"

"That's not what I mean, I know I was dreaming, but I felt like I was watching things happen to me, to all of us. I saw the transport train-"

Brenda interrupted.

"-Did we get the Berg?"

She was smiling. Thomas laughed.

"Yes, we got the Berg."

"Great! I thought that part of the plan was kinda sketchy. Glad to hear it worked."

Thomas couldn't help but feel a little better about the situation after hearing Brenda's reaction.

"Brenda, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure Thomas. What is it?"

"Is your leg feeling ok?"

Brenda nodded and pulled up her pant leg exposing her healed bite wound.

"It feels as good as new. Whatever Mary took out of you and put into me did the trick."

Thomas spoke again.

"And you feel good otherwise? No headaches, chills, or nausea?"

Brenda had a devious look flash across her face for a split second. She replaced it immediately with a curt nod and spoke.

"Well, I've meant to talk to you about that. Um, Thomas, do you remember about six weeks back when Vince threw that big party?"

Thomas nodded.

"Yeah, the one to celebrate finding a seaworthy ship big enough to get everyone to where Vince figured we'd be safe. What about it?"

"Do you remember how drunk you got? How I had to help you back to bed?"

Most of that night was still a blur to Thomas. He remembered the party and waking up in his bed, but he didn't remember how he got there.

"That was you?"

Brenda nodded with a faint smile playing across her lips.

"Yes, and to answer your question I've been feeling a little nauseous lately but. I don't think it has to do with Flare. I think it might be morning sickness..."

Thomas suddenly felt light headed and turned pale as a ghost. Brenda started laughing.

"Tom, I'm teasing you! I feel fine. And it was Newt and Fry who got you back to bed not me. -Not that I wouldn't have lent a hand if needed."

Thomas exhaled as if he'd been holding his breath for ages. He smiled like he just had his death sentence commuted. Even though it was her prank, Brenda couldn't help but feel unwanted after seeing the joy on Thomas' face when he learned she was only joking. Brenda forced herself to smile and enliven her words to disguise her disappointment as she spoke.

"Thomas, I'd never take advantage of you! ...I get that you don't like me like that. So I promise no matter what, it won't happen. Ok?"

Thomas spoke.

"I'm glad I didn't go running tonight. Thanks, Brenda."

Brenda smiled genuinely hearing Tom's words of affirmation. Thomas continued.

"Are you ready to head back?"

"I'll catch up with you Tom. I, uh, have to go to the bathroom."

Thomas nodded quickly and spoke.

"-Ok, I'll leave the doors open remember to lock them."

Brenda smiled weakly at Thomas and spoke.

"Ok, will do."

Thomas turned to leave as Brenda spoke again.

"Hey, Thomas. It was really nice talking to you."

Thomas nodded with a quick smile. He ran off back to where the others were sleeping.

Brenda was lying about her reason for needing privacy. But she wanted to be alone for a moment to center herself again. She could act any way she had to stay on Thomas' good side, but that couldn't change how she felt. She didn't just think Thomas was attractive. She had feelings for him. She watched until Thomas rounded a corner and went out of sight before she sighed loudly. Brenda shook her head and spoke aloud to no one.

" _Why_ am I doing this to myself?"

Brenda laughed so she wouldn't cry. Even as she heard her own words, she felt the answer in her heart even if she couldn't bring herself to admit it. Brenda wanted to be closer to Thomas, but she wasn't stupid either. Brenda knew if she kept trying so hard she'd end up as a footnote in his history and one not spoken of well. So she decided then and there to take the love she felt and refocus it. She'd make all of her unruly passions behave and use their sum total to fuel a friendship that would last beyond this life and into the next. Even if she'd only be an adjunct to Tom's happiness at least, she could be part of his life. That thought pleased her. Her eyes got a little brighter feeling right about the situation for the first time in weeks.

She ambled back to their makeshift camp feeling just a bit better about everything.

* * *

The sound of Teresa's hard soled shoe echoed off the high ceilings of the marble lobby at WCKD's headquarters. She'd been working closely with Ava Paige for months now, but she'd never been summoned in the middle of the night before. She already had a pit forming in her stomach as she reached the elevator and the door opened revealing Janson. Teresa spoke.

"What are you doing here?"

Janson smirked. "I could ask you the same thing, but I imagine I wouldn't get a straight answer."

Teresa entered the lift and turned to press the button for the research level.

"Your imagination is improving."

"Look, Teresa, we'd all be better off if we just let bygones be bygones and focus on the task at hand."

"And I think we'd be better off if we didn't shoot researchers with valuable field research experience."

"Is that what all this has been about? Mary?!" Janson laughed shaking his head. "Teresa I'm beginning to think _your_ imagination is overdeveloped. Mary didn't leave WCKD; she washed out. She tried to hide behind her qualms over our methodology, but as a scientist she was incompetent."

Teresa stared at Janson with a hateful look.

"Well, that _incompetent doctor_ managed to produce viable serum from an antiquated purification kit in a tent in the middle of the desert so spare me the post-mortem character assassination."

The lift was silent for several moments. Janson spoke again.

"...And to think I was under the impression that your standoffish attitude towards me was because of _Thomas_."

It was the first time Teresa had heard that name spoken outside of her own head for months. The fact that Janson was saying it provoked a special contempt from Teresa. She wheeled around and faced him as the lift stopped, and the doors began to open behind her. Teresa spoke angerly.

"-You mean the other critical asset you managed to lose? Janson, try to wrap your mind around this. I don't dislike you because you're a monster. I dislike you because you're sloppy, inept, shortsighted, and _mistakenly_ under the impression you merit continued treatment."

Janson's eyes went wide with rage. Teresa continued.

"So if I were you, I'd be focused on the task at hand. Because you're the only person, I'd be willing to see die needlessly."

Teresa smiled at Janson as she took a step back out of the lift and the door closed. As the elevator continued on its way, Janson punched the wall leaving a minor dent.

"We'll just see who survives this Teresa..."

* * *

Teresa walked into Paige's office which was adjacent to the laboratory. Seeing Teresa's approach through the large plate glass windows, Ava turned to speak to her protege.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice."

Teresa closed the door behind her and spoke.

"Of course but what's so urgent that it couldn't wait until morning?"

Ava turned a computer screen toward Teresa. On it was a series of graphs and diagrams that are showing projected infections rates now that viral Flare was airborne. Teresa's eyes went wide.

"But how is this possible? The airborne variant was supposed to be less virulent, not more."

Paige shook her head.

"I was wrong. What's worse is that all three formulations of serum appear to be losing their efficacy. Shorter curative durations mean a greater need for immune test subjects. That might please Janson, but the reality is it was always a stopgap measure. Now more then ever, we are running out of time."

Teresa continued scanning the files trying to spot something in the data that would offer any hope.

"Wait, what about the pairing experiment? That showed promise."

Paige nodded.

"Yes it did but in order for it to work the bond between the pair had to be genuine. Simply altering the memories of test subjects to make them think they were romantically involved was insufficient."

Paige pulled up another image on the screen that looked like a cargo manifest only it was filled with the first names of people listed in alphabetical order.

"We would need immunes with a strong familial bond or ones who are in love. Hmmm, Aris and Sonya are in transit to us now. The video surveillance taken since their recapture suggests a parallel romantic interest beginning between them. Aristotle even attempted to physically fight one of Janson's men when they attempted to relocate Sonya away from him."

Teresa felt her mind gravitating to Thomas for the second time that night.

 _*In love...*_ Hearing her own words resound in her head made Teresa measure the cost of her prior actions back in the scorch. The searing pain of regret followed. Teresa still believed in her reasons why but that didn't make what she did to Thomas any less painful. She had run from that ugly realization for months, trying to fill her every waking moment with her work to find a cure because only that would make the sacrifice feel justifiable. Paige continued.

"You know, you may be on to something Teresa. We could modify the Reality Simulator so two subjects could simultaneously exist within the test environment. That way we could collect relevant brain activity without risk of physical harm."

"What about psychological harm?"

Teresa couldn't believe she said that out loud. She was shocked when Paige looked at her and smiled.

"You know who you sound like?"

"Don't say, Thomas."

Paige nodded.

"It was excellent work on your part neutralizing him during the standoff despite the fact he escaped you. His absence is a shame. Were he here, I anticipate you two would be ideally suited for this new trial."

Teresa allowed herself to think of Thomas like she once did. The sweet, awkward boy who would steal glances at her from behind his computer console when he thought she wasn't looking when of course she was. The brave guy who threw himself in front of countless cranks and guns to keep her safe. And the man he'd grown into who was single-handedly leading a war against the most powerful organization on earth. She didn't care how much mental trauma she would surely endure for the privilege. The idea of being with Thomas again on even footing was the sweetest dream even if it came wrapped in a nightmare.

Ava looked through medical reports for prospective candidates and spoke.

"I really must reprimand Janson for these harsh tactics. From the X-rays, Aris has a hairline microfracture of his Zygomatic bone. When will he learn?"

Teresa had been waiting for an opportunity to speak out against Janson.

"Considering the instability brought on by his condition isn't he overdue to be replaced?"

Paige was reviewing files as she spoke.

"Janson has been overdue for replacement for years. Unfortunately, he provides more than security and unparalleled enthusiasm for rounding up candidates."

Teresa looked at Paige quizzically.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning there are other useful anomalies within blood beyond immunity..."

 **(Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed the prequel portion of The Death Cure rewrite. Part two will be coming soon. As** **always it is a pleasure to write for you :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**(Part Two as promised :) Thank you to Gwtwfan25, LightWitch13, Prioreincantatum, and nvnightrider9 for the** **follows and favorites!** **I was hoping to get this posted before a friend had returned from vacation so this is the procrastinator in me trying to redeem a missed deadline ;) I hope you enjoy. Much more to come, I intend this to flow into an epilogue based solely on movie canon. Thank you for your time and attention, it's much appreciated! I** **do not own Maze Runner)**

For Thomas, the lead up to the attack on the WCKD supply train was a blur. Last minute preparations were all in place. All there was left to do was for everyone to get into position. Thomas was trying to keep himself focused on the moment, but he couldn't get the things he'd seen during last night's dream out of his head. He was sitting next to Newt inside their intercept vehicle at the top of a hill just waiting for their quarry to arrive. The view of the train tracks combined with the faint smell of burned rubber from Newt's lead foot wafted through the open cockpit only intensified his sense of deja vu. Thomas glanced over at Newt who was nursing a healthy dose of pregame jitters by chewing on a plastic straw.

"Don't worry man; this is going to..."

Newt looked confused.

"Going to what? Are you alright Tommy, you ain't having a stroke or something are ya?"

Thomas shook his head and continued. "This is going to work. -I _said_ that before!"

"Before what? Tommy Boy, if this is supposed to be a pep talk, I'd be more inspiring without the bloody stammering."

Thomas was about to explain himself or at least try to when he saw Newt's eye's focus on the horizon. Thomas remembered this too. He pointed at Newt as they simultaneously spoke.

"Showtime!"

Newt grinned. "Great minds think alike."

"I knew you were gonna say that."

Newt shook his head. "Tommy, you picked a hell of a day to start gettin' weird. Buckle up!"

Newt slammed on the accelerator and the next moment they were hurtling towards the speeding train.

As the action of the train heist unfolded Thomas only felt a deepening sense of deja vu the only difference between his dream and reality is that now things were happening in real time. But from one moment to the next Thomas would spot some detail about events and suddenly remember exactly what was about to occur. As Newt jumped the vehicle onto the tracks behind the speeding train, Thomas climbed onto its hood. The sense that every action he was taking was something he'd already accomplished once before gave him an odd confidence he couldn't explain. He leaped over to the train and started climbing the runged ladder. He knew he was moving faster than in his dream, but he'd need the extra time for what he planned. Thomas sprinted over the prisoner transport cars to plant the explosive. Moments later the charge separated the railcars from the rest of the WCKD supply train and their target coasted to a stop.

"Newt! This one!"

Thomas directed Newt to begin cutting the security mounts on a different car then he remembered from his vision. Part of him felt like a snake knowing that by trying to save Minho he was condemning Sonya and Aris to the same torture Minho endured. But for now, he didn't have time to worry about the finer points of morality. Now that the drive section of the train had come to a halt, Thomas could see WCKD's security personnel deploying to intercept them. He knew Newt would need every moment he could give him. Thomas slid back down the ladder and sprinted to an outcropping of rocks that gave him a better vantage point for suppressive fire. He hadn't done this the first time but it after right away he could tell it was working. The WCKD guards were pinned down and unable to advance.

"Nice jKLAK Tommy! AlmKLAK donKLAK here!"

Over the sound of gunfire Thomas couldn't make out exactly what Newt was saying, but whatever it was, at least he looked happy about it. Thomas slid behind the rock to reload just as Jorge and Brenda's Berg came into view. He smiled remembering what Brenda said the night before about that part of the plan being 'sketchy.' He was glad it worked out this time too.

After firing a prolonged burst at the approaching troops, Thomas raced back the rear of the transport car to rejoin Newt.

"Nice work Tommy! Now let's get the hell outta here!"

The pair climbed up the ladder of the car as the Berg went into hover mode overhead. At first, the WCKD guards sped up assuming the Berg was there to reinforce them but a sustained burst of chaingun fire made them think otherwise. The commandeered gunship lowered cables down to Newt and Thomas who were able to work freely now that the hail of bullets had abated. Thomas looked up and could see Brenda giving him a thumbs up smiling. Her smile was contagious as he suddenly found it on his own face. Moments later they were all in the air. Thomas knew that in short order, he would find out if his friend Minho was just beneath his feet or if his dream had cost Aris and Sonya their freedom needlessly.

* * *

Newt slumped down next to Thomas who was sitting with his back up against a broken down car. Fry Pan had taken over with the cutting torch to give Newt a break.

"Holy hell Tommy, now I ain't complainin' but is there some reason you were even more action hero than normal back there?"

"What do you mean?" Said Thomas looking confused.

"What do you mean, what do I mean? The plan was to use the railcar for cover. Not go bloody runnin' off into the desert to pick a firefight with the whole damn squad from behind some rocks." Newt chided.

"Yeah, I guess that was the plan. I don't know man, I just saw an opportunity, and I took it."

Newt nodded. "Well, it worked out real good this time, Tommy. Just don't make a habit of it. You've come too bloody far to catch a bullet showing off."

"Don't you mean _we've_ come too far Newt?"

"Of course, that's what I said wasn't it?"

"Not exactly... Hey man, I've meant to ask. Have you been feel-"

"- **Great job guys!** " Brenda shouted while running up to Newt and Thomas. "That was some nice shooting Thomas!"

"Hey Brenda, thanks! You and Jorge did a great job too."

Brenda smiled as she sat next to Thomas.

"Guess your dream was right. We got the Berg."

"Now let's just see if we got Minho." Newt quipped. " **Hey, Fry how's it coming?** "

Fry took a step back from the half molten hinge and lifted up the face plant on Newt's welding mask.

"I don't know which is worse. How hot it is of the smell of your breath in this mask."

"Sorry shank, I seem to have misplaced my toothbrush what with us runnin' for our lives and all."

Fry laughed and resumed cutting the last of the mounting brackets on the door. Moments later the door fell forward with a thud. Thomas jumped to his feet and raced through the open door.

"Minho? Minho?"

"Thomas?!"

"Guys he's here!"

Over the next twenty minutes, Thomas and the others freed all the remaining immunes from the hot confines of the of the WCKD transport. Jorge and Brenda went through the Berg with a fine tooth comb disabling every transponder and locator subsystem onboard. Thomas and Newt were sitting with Minho who was rubbing his wrists.

"I never thought I'd be so happy to see your ugly face, Thomas."

"The feelings mutual Minho."

"How'd you guys find me?"

"That was mostly Tommy's doin'. He and Brenda practically mapped out the whole bloody Scorch to figure out how WCKD was movin' test subjects around."

Fry walks up.

"Hey Thomas, everyone is good to go, but uh, it doesn't look like we got Aris or Sonya."

Minho sat up taller.

"They're alive, Thomas. I saw them both back at the holding facility before we got loaded onto the train."

Of course, Thomas knew Minho was right. What no one else knew was that Thomas had just chosen Minho's safety over both of them. He thought of Teresa. How he judged her and WCKD so harshly for playing God with other peoples lives, and now suddenly he felt just as guilty.

"I believe you Minho. Don't worry; we aren't leaving anybody behind."

Newt looked one part shocked, one part confused as he began to speak. "Uh, Tommy, I don't know if you're keepin' up on current events, but that little stunt we just pulled off took us eight weeks to plan. You know Vince ain't gonna be interested in hangin' around much longer."

Thomas nodded.

"You're right; we're out of time."

Newt nodded somberly.

Thomas spoke. "Which is why we'll just have to take the fight to WCKD."

* * *

The next morning near the docks Vince was welcoming all the newly freed immunes sharing his vision of a place far from WCKD for them to build a new world. Thomas was sold on that vision. But he couldn't shake the haunting memory of himself chiseling "TERESA" into the memory stone. It made him angry and sad at the same time and even with a head full of the knowledge of events to come, he didn't know what to do about it. Or whose name he'd be chiseling in its place when this was all over.

"Good work back there Hermano."

Thomas was shaken from his introspection by the sound of Jorge's jovial voice. He turned and embraced him.

"We couldn't have done it without you, Jorge. Guess it's our good luck we found the only guy in the Scorch who can fly a WCKD gunship."

"Ah, it's not that hard. I'll have to teach you one day. Hey, what's this I hear about you going after WCKD? I thought the plan was to get Minho back and then sail into early retirement?"

Thomas looked immediately uncomfortable.

"Yeah. Yeah, that was the plan, but it turns out they still have Sonya and Aris. It just doesn't feel right to me to leave them behind."

"Is that the only reason, Thomas?"

Thomas let out an exasperated sigh.

"Why is everyone always asking me that? Yes! If I could snap my fingers and bring Aris and Sonya here than I'd be the first guy in line for the boat."

"Whoa Thomas, take it easy. I get you have to do what you have to do. But it's a good idea to sort out why before you call a play."

"Jorge, it's simple. I just can leave Sonya and Aris to get tortured. It's my fault they're still prisoners."

"Hermano, that's not on you. We could only take one car off that train. WCKD's smart, they didn't put all their eggs in one basket. Us getting Minho meant we missed your other friends. There's no wrong in it. It's just how things happened."

As Vince finished his speech, the crowd clapped. One of the new arrivals weaved his way through the crowd in Thomas' direction.

"Excuse me, are you Thomas?"

Thomas turned to the unfamiliar male voice.

"Yeah, that's me."

The man looked to be in his mid-thirties with short dark brown hair. He was lean and muscular to the point he looked like a poorly disguised superhero's alter ego. Despite appearing outwardly formidable, he had a profound look of indebtedness in his eyes.

"I can't say thank you enough."

He stepped forward and shook Tom's hand. The strength of his grip was startling as he continued speaking.

"If you ever need anything. Even something crazy. All you have to do is ask Thomas. I've got your back."

Thomas nodded shaking the man's hand. "Thanks, I didn't catch your name."

"It's Jake." He nodded curtly to Thomas and Jorge before excusing himself.

Jorge grinned at Thomas.

"See hermano; you might have just saved us all."

"How's that?"

"Well, you got us that guy. When we get to the Safe Haven, we can hook him to a plow and voila, bountiful harvest."

Jorge's laughter was contagious. Between it and Jake's gratitude, Thomas felt better about the whole situation. What he knew for sure was, that I didn't matter how he felt about Teresa. He wasn't going to let her die. Even if she thought she deserved to.

 **(More soon, Promise ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning Thomas waited outside the makeshift infirmary at the Harbor camp waiting for Minho to emerge. Thomas was tired. It had been a long night. After the successful hit on the supply train, random sweeps by WCKD Bergs had tripled. Someone had left a gas-powered generator running so the lighting on the far west side of the camp almost gave them away. At least, it would have if Thomas hadn't noticed it in time and raced to power it off before the gunship closed in. He saved his friends again and all it cost him this time was a decent nights sleep. What little sleep he did get came at the bottom of a sandy ditch under a piece of sheet metal. The heat and lack of sleep were making Thomas impatient. After five more minutes, he just went inside.

Medical was crowded and even hotter than outside. All of the newly rescued immunes were getting checkups. Thomas was sure Minho was among them but couldn't spot him. The first person he recognized was Vince who looked like he in the process of giving Brenda a crash course in field medicine. As Thomas made his way through the tight quarters and overlapping voices he realized it was the other way around.

"No, no, no," Brenda chided as she smiled. "Vince, you're recording the result wrong."

Thomas could see Vince and Brenda standing on either side of a brawny shirtless man that Thomas recognized as Jake. Jake had a blood pressure cuff stretched to capacity around his muscular arm as Brenda looked at his hastily prepared chart and pressed a stethoscope to the inside of his forearm.

Vince spoke. "I know how to take someone's blood pressure, Brenda. Mary taught me."

"-And she was a good teacher. Your numbers are all correct, but you've got them written in the wrong columns. According to this poor Jake is having a heart attack."

Brenda slapped Jake on the shoulder.

"Hey Jake, are you feeling alright?"

Jake nodded and spoke.

"For a guy having a heart attack? Never better."

Brenda smirked.

"Wow, your resting heart rate is almost as low as Thomas."

Thomas walked up and nodded to his friends. "Are you guys talking about me?"

"When aren't we." Brenda flashed a pretty smile at Thomas. "No, I was just telling Jake here, he's in excellent health."

Brenda removed the stethoscope and signaled he could go. Jake stood and pulled his shirt back on over his head.

"Honestly, they all are," Vince said as he handed a clipboard to Thomas. "I'll say this for WCKD, at least they know how to take care of their prisoners. No sign of vitamin deficiency or malnourishment."

Brenda nodded.

"Yeah, everybody I've checked is better shape then we are, for the most part at least." Brenda leaned over and whispered to Thomas as he looked at the clipboard.

" _I actually prefer guys who aren't so bulky._ "

Thomas smiled a wide natural smile at Brenda. He whispered back. " _Me too._ "

Brenda laughed joyfully. The sound of her laughter was a pleasant diversion for Thomas. He'd always felt responsible for his friend's safety. But now that he was convinced Newt and Teresa's lives were hanging in the balance the pressure felt like it had increased tenfold. Thomas wasn't sure if that was why he was finding Brenda's coy flirtations more and more welcome. Or if it was the picture of her in his head, standing there saying; "I won't leave you!" as Thomas ran off to find Teresa. The thought that Thomas may have inadvertently gotten Teresa killed snapped his focus back to reality.

Thomas spoke. "Hey Vince, can I talk to you for a second, alone?"

"Sure Thomas."

Both men started to walk towards a back office. As Thomas passed Brenda she reached of and squeezed his shoulder as he passed. Vince led the way and Thomas followed behind him.

"Is it ok if I close the door?"

Vince nodded. "Yeah, no problem. You've got me curious, what's up?"

Thomas closed the door.

"Vince, can you make serum?"

"You mean WCKD's Flare treatment?" Vince shook his head. "Sorry Thomas, Mary never had time to show me and besides we weren't really in the business of creating demand to harvest immunes."

Thomas felt his shoulders slump as yet more hope drained from his body.

"Why does Brenda need a booster? She seems alright to me."

"No, it's not for Brenda."

"Then who?" Vince crossed his arms awaiting Thomas' response.

* * *

Meanwhile back at WCKD. Janson walked into a large security control room with several rows of computers. There were men in uniforms monitoring the cycling video feeds and adjusting perimeter defenses accordingly. Janson marched to the very front of the room and clapped his hands to get everyone's attention.

"Good morning! Now I know most of you were just screened for Flare a week ago but in light of the potential for its new vector for transmission, Chancellor Paige wanted me to double check the status of our essential personnel. And I know how _crucial_ you guys are. So everyone, secure your console and exit the room. Their waiting for you in Medical, it should only take five minutes or so."

Janson reached down and grabbed the arm of the technician to his immediate right.

"Not you Gibbs," Janson smiled. "Someone's gotta keep the lights on in here while you all get screened."

The older dark-skinned man smiled and nodded to Janson as the room cleared out. Janson took Gibbs' seat reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver quartz thumb drive. He plugged it into a data port on the computer and typed in a few keystrokes. The screen scrolled a completion percentile as he uploaded seemingly random files before accessing others. He pulled up telemetry and a grainy video recording from the attack on the supply train.

"Computer freeze playback! Enhance section A-1 and identify the subject."

A smooth artificial female voice spoke. "Image on file. Retina scan confirmed. The subject is identified as Thomas."

"Gotcha... Computer, delete this footage from local and core memory."

A series of tones sound softly in a descending crescendo before the female voice speaks again. "Confirmed."

Janson jumps to his feet and removes this thumb drive and restores the console's normal viewer. He turned and walked out of the control room passing the first of the returning personnel.

"Sorry I couldn't wait for you boys, something came up."

Janson turns down an adjacent hallway and disappears.

* * *

Ava Paige was looking through a microscope and a cell culture in a petri dish as Teresa walked across the lab to join her.

"Good morning Teresa."

"Good morning. How is the new serum performing? Any better than expected."

Ava stepped back from the microscope.

"See for yourself."

Teresa adjusted the field viewer and focused the image to her eyes. As she looked at the sample she could see a small cluster of black cells rapidly multiplying within a bath of blue liquid. Teresa leaned back and starred at Ava Paige with an incredulous look on her face.

"What's the viral suppression efficacy Eight percent? How could the virus have adapted to quickly?"

"I had it rated at ten percent but you always had a better eye for such things. But the numerical value is irrelevant. Anything below twenty-five percent suppression and our existing population of immunes can't generate enough enzyme to keep up with the resulting demand."

Teresa sighed.

"Well we have to try new formulations, there has to be a way."

Teresa had come to consider Ava Paige the most driven person she had ever met. But over the last few weeks, her drive was routinely eclipsed by Teresa's own. Ava shook her head.

"We've already tried every permutation possible. No, our only hope is that with the Reality Simulator and some of the original test subjects from the Trials, we'll generate some new leads, and quickly."

When Paige mentioned "original test subjects" Teresa once again felt that nagging sense of guilt that had been gnawing at her since returning to WCKD. She had to justify her decision to leave the others. To leave Thomas. But the only justification that would ever suffice would be nothing short of the Cure.

"When can we expect..." Teresa couldn't bring herself to use Paige's own terminology for her former friends. "The new arrivals? And are we still beginning with Minho's Glade reintegration simulation?"

"Unfortunately no. It appears some very well organized raiders attacked one of our supply trains. Minho's transport was taken."

Teresa was shocked. "You mean someone broke in and evacuated him?"

Ava gave Teresa a look she hadn't seen for a long time. Not since she was just a timid research assistant and Ava was trying to get her to think bigger."

Teresa continued. "Wait, they took the entire car?"

Ava nodded once crisply. "Exactly."

"Was anyone injured?"

"Yes Teresa, there were casualties. But the loss of over thirty percent of our candidates greatly outweighs the loss of a dozen of Janson's men who accept the job understanding the risk."

 _*More senseless killing, more death. As if the Flare didn't provide enough to go around already.*_ Teresa thought to herself.

"Those transports weigh tons, they are practically bolted to the tracks not to mention they are defended by an army? Who could manage to do that?"

Before Teresa even finish her question she found the only logical answer within her memories. She knew the only person who could pull that of was-.

"-Oh my God, Thomas! Was it Thomas?"

The look Ava gave Teresa carried a full measure of judgment within it considering that the most enthusiasm she'd seen from her protege in months was over Thomas.

"We aren't sure but it's likely. We think Minho was his intended target and that the entire group is planning on an exodus in the near future. We'll know more details soon. Janson is supposed to be reviewing the telemetry now."

Just then Janson emerged from behind a partition wall. Teresa was almost certain he'd been lurking there for some time.

"Did I hear my name? I hope Teresa wasn't heaping praises upon me as usual." Janson fired an insincere smile at Teresa.

"Teresa and I were discussing the incident with the transport train. Did you determine who the culprits were?"

"Was it Thomas?" Teresa said while trying to disguise her interest as outrage.

Janson was silent for a moment longer than was comfortable before acknowledging the question with an answer.

"Nope, no sign of Thomas."

Paige sighed. "Then who?"

"It looks like a just another raiding party."

"Why would a raiding party go to all that trouble just to steal a bunch of immune kids?"

"Well for starters the transport they were in was falsely labeled 'food' on the manifest." Janson looked at Ava. "New security procedure we introduced, it really keeps would-be thieves guessing."

Teresa was incredulous. "Your _brilliant_ security procedure just cost us a third of our research."

Janson seemed to revel in Teresa's anger.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much Teresa. If their normal raiders, they'll just sell us all the immunes back first chance they get. ...Unless these raiders turn out to be cannibals. And in that case, I guess the transport was labeled correctly!"

"That's enough, both of you. We don't have time for this. Ava chided. "Janson, are the other test subjects secured?"

Janson nodded.

"Secured, washed, and being fed as we speak. They'll be ready to get to work after lunch."

"Excellent. I'll begin to make preparations."

With that Ava walked out of the room and down an adjacent hallway leaving Janson and Teresa alone.

"Ah Teresa, you really are a credit to your generation. I can tell from the look in your eyes you can't wait to start playing with your new toys."

Teresa wasn't taking the bait this time.

"Janson, the next time you "mislabel" a highly valuable commodity you might trying using something other than another high-value commodity."

Janson grinned as Teresa turned to leave.

"Maybe next time try 'solid waste' after all, your full of that."

Teresa flashed her own insincere smile at Janson and walked out of the lab.


	4. Chapter 4

**(Sorry for the delay between chapters :) This project is dear to me and I shall see it through to completion and eventually a movie based epilogue. Hope you enjoy! Follow Favorite if you do. I do not own Maze Runner)**

"Uh, Thomas? You still with me?"

Vince was still waiting for Thomas to explain who it was that might need the serum.

 _*Great job Thomas.*_

He thought to himself.

 _*Nothing like painting yourself into a corner you can't possibly get out of. Now I get to either out Newt as being infected to explain why we need the serum that none of us knew how to make anyway. Or keep lying to my friends who are eventually going to have to believe me and it would help if they thought that I **wasn't** crazy.*_

Thomas sighed.

"Look, Vince, Newt infected. He's got Flare. I'm trying to keep him alive until we can get him back to WCKD because it turns they can cure him."

Vince walked over and peeked around the shade to be sure no one was listening. He drew it to cover the window of the private investigators' door completely and took several moments to process everything Thomas was saying. Finally, he looked back up at Thomas with angry eyes.

"Do you have any idea what you're saying?"

"Yeah, Vince I do."

"How the hell do you know that? How the hell do you know any of that?!"

Vince leaned up against the desk in front of Thomas who took a seat looking exhausted from his own admission.

"Man, I just do. Ask Newt; you'll see I'm right. But just take it easy on him he hasn't told anybody yet. He's probably still trying to get his mind around it himself."

"Believe me, Thomas, I will, but that's only half the bombs you just dropped in my lap, isn't it? What in God's name makes you think WCKD's got the cure? Because from where I'm sitting it seemed to be business as usual for Janson and his henchmen. Why would they worry about gathering up a bunch of other immunes if they already figured out a cure?"

"Because they're missing one last ingredient. It's me, Vince; my blood is the cure. That's the reason Brenda isn't sick anymore."

Vince stared at Thomas for a solid ten seconds before saying another word. After what felt like an eternity Vince broke his silence.

"I can tell you believe in what you're saying Thomas but that doesn't mean your right. I've seen it before. And I know you guys are close, but people respond differently to the serum. Brenda could be having a good reaction to it. It doesn't mean she's cured."

"Then test her! You'll see I'm right!"

"Who do I look like, man? Ava Paige? Do you think I just neglected to show you the state of the art science lab on that barge out there?"

"Well then here's an idea, Vince, you'll just have to trust me!"

"...Who says I don't Thomas?"

Vince stood up and slapped Thomas on the back and continued.

"But if your blood is the cure, the last thing you need to be doing is going anywhere near WCKD. If they got ahold of you something tells me they wouldn't go door to door sharing their good fortune with the masses."

Thomas nodded.

"Vince, you don't know how right you are. But I'm not letting Newt die, and I'm not giving Janson his chance to take over the world either."

"So whats the play, Thomas?"

"It's simple. We kidnap Teresa."

* * *

A few hours later Vince and Thomas had gathered Jorge, Brenda, Frypan, Harriet, Newt and Minho at a dusty courtyard between several of the outlying buildings. After Thomas explained to the rest of his friends what he'd told Vince, he turned to Newt.

"I'm sorry man. I didn't want to go behind you back, but I'm not letting you sacrifice yourself."

Newt had his hand on his jaw with a pensive look on his face. Silently taking in what his friend was saying.

"Look, Tommy. I get that you want to help me and all, but there is no bloody cure, right? I mean, if there was wouldn't that be the end of all of this?"

Vince shook his head. "See that's where you're wrong. Thomas and I talked about this, and if he's right about himself being the cure, then the last thing we can do is hand him over to WCKD."

Brenda crossed her arms skeptically.

"So what? Me and Newt are the only people in the world who are supposed to get the cure? Seems kinda selfish to me Vince."

Thomas spoke up.

"It would be Brenda. So that isn't what we're going to do. We're going to be the ones who control who gets the cure. Not WCKD, not Paige, and sure as hell, not Janson."

"I'm all for that, Thomas," Frypan spoke. "But did I miss the part where we had a way make more serum? Even if your blood _is_ the cure, without Mary, we got nothin'."

This was the moment Thomas had been dreading. Because he knew it was the last thing his friends were going to want to hear, especially from him. But if his plan was going to work there was only one person who could pull it off. Even though he was the worst person to push this agenda to the others, he choked out the words...

"That's why... That's why we're going to need Teresa."

All at once the orderly meeting turned into everyone talking at once. Brenda managed to win out.

"Thomas, I'm not trying to add insult to injury, but in case you missed that little fireworks show back in the Scorch, Teresa already chose her side. And guess what? It wasn't ours. Even if she could help us, what makes you think she would?"

Thomas shook his head.

"Look, I know what she did. And it makes me sick to be the one standing here defending her. But Teresa only sided against us because she thinks it's her chance to save the world. ...She doesn't realize Janson's just trying to take it over."

Minho had been leaning up against the sun-bleached sandstone wall of the ruined building in silence since the meeting began. Finally, he spoke.

"Well Janson is an asshole, you'll get no argument from me there. I know I've been out of circulation for awhile Thomas but when exactly did you learn how to travel through time? Because it seems like all of this is based off you knowing stuff that makes me think you're overdue for a CAT scan."

"Tommy was right about me having Flare," Newt said defiantly.

"And about us getting the Berg." Brenda quipped.

Jorge stepped forward.

"Brenda will tell you; I've been hounding her over that bite on her leg a lot lately. Now I'm no doctor, but I've also never seen any dose of serum keep Flare in check that long. The only thing that makes sense is that Thomas' blood is the cure. I can be a skeptical as anyone, but results are results Hermano."

Minho shrugged.

"Ok, Thomas is psychic, got it. So I guess that leaves us with two hurdles to overcome. First, we have no idea where WCKD is. And second, once we sort that out, our best case scenario involves us getting that she-devil Teresa back. I mean, if we can get Aris and Sonya back, done. But does anybody actually think that last part is a good idea?"

Part of Thomas knew exactly what Minho was trying to say. Afterall, when you've been burned once it's hard to convince yourself to stick your hand back into the fire.

"Listen Minho, the fact is Teresa can use my blood to cure Newt. That alone is worth the risk. If anyone disagrees, now is the time to say so."

The only sound to be heard was the wind and distant voices from the makeshift harbor encampment. Thomas nodded to everyone.

"Good, because I think I know where to look for WCKD..."

Thomas pulled out a map and began to explain what he remembered. He couldn't help but feel it in his bones that after months of fighting himself, he was on a path that would bring him back to Teresa. Part of him was angry, part of him couldn't wait. But all of Thomas was more certain than ever before, that whatever this was between him and Teresa, it wasn't finished yet.


	5. Chapter 5

**(Special thanks to _zigihadid, nibashmangang, MyCookiemonster95, Issei Uchiha Namikaze-Dragneel,_ _Justin Hsu,_ _Bunnymallow183, Ender99, KiNGSPaM1, everHermione, bmcallen,_ _LeeandSara11, silverblade243,_ and _Tj07_** **\- welcome back TJ :) for the follows and favorites. It is very appreciated! I do not own Maze Runner)**

Teresa was looking at tissue sample cultures through her scanning electron microscope when she heard a pitchy whistle from the doorway behind her. When she turned, she immediately rolled her eyes and returned to her work.

"What do you want Janson."

Janson was leaning with his arms crossed and his back against the door jam.

"It's not what I want Teresa; it's what Paige wants. She says you're going to have to take point on the simulation trials. I'm told that Dr. Vaas has developed symptoms of Flare and will be indisposed today getting his first treatment."

"Wait, me?"

Janson dug into his jacket pocket, pulled out an apple, and took a crunchy bite.

"Yes, you." Janson wipes his mouth. "Why? Is that going to be a problem for you? I mean no one would blame you, after all, I know you were friends with Aris and Sonya, at least so they thought."

Teresa ignored him.

"Where's Dr. Avery?"

"How should I know? Keeping track of all your colleagues isn't my job, only your lab rats. So can we get going? Believe me; I have better things to do with my time than babysit you for Paige."

Teresa turned around and narrowed her eyes at Janson.

"I know the way."

Janson grinned with some apple skin still stuck between his teeth before turning to walk off. Before rounding the corner, he called back to her.

"Hey Teresa, have fun!"

After his parting shot, Janson walked out of sight. Teresa stood silently before shutting off her microscope and keying in a sequence that brought up a digital video feed. The image on the monitor was of a little girl whose face was trailed with black veins and dried tears. She was restlessly tossing and turning. Trying to get into a comfortable position so she could sleep. Teresa watched the screen for several minutes with a look on her face that was a mix of desperation and determination. She abruptly shut off the feed and marched out of the lab and down the hall. She reached an adjacent corridor with a yellow sign in front of a pair of high-security double doors, labeled _Authorized personnel only._ She scanned her key card and entered the lab just as Aris and Sonya were being brought in from the holding cells by several guards.

"Teresa?"

Aris looked almost glad to see her but smiling through the bruises on his face Teresa felt no comfort especially knowing what she was about to do.

"Hey, Aris. Hey, Sonya."

Sonya showed no sign of familial grace at all. Her eyes went from frightened to dark in an instant. As if forgetting she was surrounded by three of the largest men she'd ever seen in her life she lashed out at Teresa trying to slap her.

"TRAITOR!"

Sonya no more than raised her hand before one of the three guards leveled her with a haymaker punch that would have reduced even Gally to a catatonic state.

"NO!" Teresa shouted out to stay the guards.

But Aris was already swinging to punch the guard that just knocked out Sonya. His punch connected with the guard's jaw knocking him back. For a moment Aris was standing over him triumphant until the other two guards restrained him as the third guard took to his feet again. It was clear that the massive man was about to take out his aggression on what was left of Aris' face until.

"Get your hands **OFF** my patient-"

Teresa positioned herself between Aris and the advancing guard.

"-or I will strap you down to this table and try to find _something USEFUL_ **INSIDE _YOU!_** "

The guards restraining Aris released him. He immediately dove to comfort Sonya who was still unconscious and trembling involuntarily on the laboratory floor.

The first guard spoke.

"We have orders to protect you-"

Teresa cut him off.

"Protect me?"

Teresa was incredulous.

"- _I_ ran the Maze! _I_ crossed the Scorch! You've never even _seen_ a crank outside this lab! What makes you **THINK** you could protect me from anything! ...Now, if because you can't hold your temper I'm forced to delay this Trial I promise you'll get a chance to met a crank in the wild, the west tunnel always needs clearing out."

It was a coin flip whether Aris or the guard had a more stunned look of disbelief on their face. Teresa continued.

"Now unless I expressly order any of you, don't touch anyone. Is that understood?"

The guards nodded, and all filed back against the wall in unison. Teresa crouched down and started examining Sonya's head.

Aris spoke. "Uh Teresa, I'm not sure if I should thank you or be really terrified right now."

Teresa looked Aris in the eyes with a cold, absolutist determination.

"Don't thank me."

* * *

Thomas was behind the wheel of a rusty dune buggy loaded up with his friends. They were tearing down a highway laughing and carrying on like it was some post-apocalyptic road trip. Hearing Minho, Fry, and Newt joking around it would have been easy to forget that they were on a mission that Jorge described as 'suicidal' just hours earlier. But Thomas wasn't in a joking mood. If anything, now that his friends had committed to his plan to abduct Teresa he felt more pressure then ever. He was trying to formulate his plan between the jovial interruptions from his friends.

"Hey Thomas, do you remember your first night back in the Glade? When you and Gally were fighting in the circle?"

"Yeah Fry, what about it."

"Man, I'd never seen _anyone_ hit the ground that hard. And you pop back up on your feet, and you're like- Thomas! My name is Thomas!"

Minho and Newt both laughed. Fry continued.

"Haha, awhile later I was thinking, what if that isn't even his real name? What if Gally hit him so hard he just made up a new one! How would we know!"

The other boys laughed even harder than before. Thomas smiled to cover his concern hearing Fry's words.

 _*Like I need another thing to doubt right now. After all, just because it was Newt and Teresa who died in the vision doesn't mean I can't get any of the rest of them killed along the way.*_

Thomas glanced in the rearview mirror at Fry and Minho until he caught a glimpse of Brenda riding shotgun next to Harriet in the Jeep that was following them. Normally, seeing Brenda calmed his nerves. Thomas knew he could count on her for anything. Part of Brenda had to know that by helping him she was making it more likely she and Thomas would never amount to more than just friends. But, to Thomas, that just proved how good she was. And to think that by changing things to save Newt and Teresa he might just be trading Brenda or Jorge or any of his other friends, gave him a sickly feeling in the deepest part of his stomach.

 _*It sucks playing god.*_

There was no time to wallow in his concerns. Between the fact that Newt was on borrowed time and that convincing Teresa would involve giving her proof _without_ tipping off Paige or Janson meant he was going to need a better plan than last time. As Thomas thought of all the variables involved his head started to hurt. Finding Gally, negotiating with Lawrence, stopping Janson, there were so many moving parts it would be so easy for something to go wrong. Not to mention, Thomas knew he was already making changes to the timeline that, no doubt, would affect the way things played out for him this time. He started to wonder if this what he'd been like at WCKD before he turned on them. A guy trying to plan his way through circumstances way beyond his control.

 _*Yeah, that sounds about right.*_

* * *

Teresa took Sonya and Aris into a small conference room that was in the middle of a busy hallway just down from the main lab. The large glass windows on both sides of the narrow room revealed all the foot traffic from dozens of researchers and guards and other various WCKD functionaries. Both Sonya and Aris were wearing white uniforms identical to the ones Thomas and Teresa wore when they were partnered to help develop the Maze Trials. She couldn't help but find the parallels ironic. Sonya and Aris were immune like her and Thomas. Both highly intelligent, like her and Thomas. And Teresa could tell their interest in each other wasn't purely platonic either, just like her and Thomas. Once the both sat down, Teresa spoke.

"You are going to participate in a simulation together. If you cooperate, I can guarantee you won't be separated for as long as you remain here."

Aris spoke first.

"A simulation? Is this like a new Maze?"

Teresa shook her head.

"In a manner of speaking but in this case, the Maze is in your mind. Neither of you will be placed in any physical danger."

It was Sonya's turn to shake her head. She pointed to her right cheek which was already dark purple from where the guard had struck her minutes before.

"No physical danger huh?"

Teresa sighed.

"Look, I get it, I do. But we're almost out of time. This place, all these people you see passing by in the halls. Less than a fraction of one percent of them are immune like we are."

"Sucks for them," Sonya said defiantly.

Teresa let silence be her response. She pressed a button that lowered shutters leaving the room totally dark. Then Teresa pulled up the video link of the sick little girl from before and displayed the image on the wall behind her.

"Does it suck for her too? Because before you take your hatred for me out on the rest of the world realize its people like her who get to pay for it."

Teresa had half a mind to turn up the volume, lock the door, and leave the video of the child screaming playing on a loop but she didn't have time for theatrics even if Sonya could benefit from the lesson. Both Aris and Sonya were quiet. Teresa deactivated the video stream and reopened the windows.

"Help me and your compliance will become voluntary. You won't be test subjects anymore; you'll be researchers like Thomas, and I were. Fight me on this, and they'll drug you and force you into the simulator. It will hurt and you will perform poorly. So they'll just test you again and again until all you'll be useful for is harvesting for serum. It's your choice, but I need an answer right now."

Aris looked at Sonya.

"I won't let them drug you. Trouble is, from the looks of us we're well on our way to getting ourselves killed trying to stop them. This way, at least we do things on our terms."

"Aris, I don't want to see you get hurt either but how can we trust _her_!"

Sonya spoke about Teresa as if she wasn't sitting right there.

"Sonya, we don't have to trust her. If we trust each other I know, we'll get through this. Are you with me?"

Sonya smiled at Aris hearing him ask. Her smile made her eyes twinkle even though she was fast developing an obvious black eye.

"You know I am Ris."

The pair hugged from their seats next to each other. Aris turned to Teresa.

"I guess we're hired."


	6. Chapter 6

Vince was back at the harbor camp loudly rifling through one of the outlying buildings looking for any other tools they could use. Jorge walked in carrying a pack loaded with various welding equipment. Jorge tossed his pack on the ground near Vince's feet.

"I thought scavaging parts was a young man's game?"

"Yeah well, what is it they say? If you want something done right, do it yourself."

Jorge watched Vince for a few moments as he tossed a barrel of scrap metal over to access a supply closet.

"I've heard that saying... Even said it myself a time or two. But from the looks of it, I'd say you're blowing off steam."

Vince threw a bent piece of pipe out of the way and turned to face Jorge.

"What makes you say that?"

Jorge grinned.

"Thomas has that effect on people Hermano. Believe me, Brenda's like a daughter to me, I know."

Vince abandoned rummaging through the pile of rusty metal inside a utility locker.

"Do you? Cause you seemed pretty supportive of Thomas when he suggested this stunt to get our people back and abduct Teresa."

"The kid's got a mind of his own. And when he makes it up, I've learned to just go with the flow. It's gotten us this far."

Vince shook his head.

"Thomas is used to the Trials. Back when WCKD was still pulling their punches."

Jorge walked over to over the vehicles parked nearby. It was the truck they'd used during their assault on the train.

"That ain't all he used to Hermano," Jorge made his point by sticking his fingers into a series of bullet holes in the driver side door. "Thomas knows how to handle himself; the others do too."

Vince sighed.

"Jorge, you and I both know WCKD isn't a problem we can shoot our way clear of. Those extra patrols we've seen since we jacked the Berg are just the start. It's one thing for us to cut and run when we get spotted on the road but we can't exactly hide that ship under a tarp and expect to go unnoticed forever."

Jorge nodded.

"We're on the clock. But, be knew we would be after we hit WCKD's train. So why are you second-guessing yourself now?"

"-Because we can't just leave them! ...I know Thomas said they'd figure out a way to meet up with us. But even if they can navigate a week-long journey by sea isn't something you can just charge into without supplies. You're telling me that with _all_ of WCKD on their ass they're going to have time to scavenge the shit they'll need? Food, fuel, not to mention a several hundred liters of fresh water?"

"Sounds like a tall order to me Hermano."

"Exactly! ...But I got over two-hundred people out there and every second we wait is a chance for WCKD to roll in here and make us all into lab rats."

"Where are we on the good ship, G _et the hell outta here_ -last I heard we were still having engine issues."

"That's the good news. A couple of people we rescued with Minho are turning out to be good with machines. For the first time in weeks, we're actually on schedule with the refit."

Vince motioned with his head to the exit door.

"Follow me; I'll introduce you to our new engineer."

Jorge and Vince walked outside and through the dusty courtyard between the sunbleached buildings. In front of them was the rusty ship sitting noticeably higher in the water than before. The deck was crawling with teams of workers. Sporadic showers of orange sparks were raining down alongside the hull hitting the water with a sizzling sound.

"Jake! Chloe!"

Vince called out and motioned to a man and woman sitting together on a wooden bench that was suspended along the side of the ship by a rope and pulley system. At his beckoning, both stowed the plasma torches they were using to plate steel over a damaged section of the hull. Jake pulled on a rope, and the bench swung like a pendulum away from the ship. The couples feet practically skimmed the water as the bench arched over to the adjacent pier. Jake lifted Chloe up into his arms and jumped off the wooden swing in the same motion. Thr pair landed right in front of Jorge and Vince and Jake set Chloe down.

Jorge extended his hand and shook Jake's.

"So Vince tells me you're the man who's gonna get this rust bucket moving."

Jake smirked.

"Actually, I just hand Chloe whatever tool she tells me to."

Jorge glanced over at Chloe who was smiling wide.

"My bad, sorry Hermena."

Chloe waved her hand dismissing Jorge's concerns.

"Don't worry, happens all the time."

Chloe's French accent made her slim physique and long brown hair seem all the more feminine in contrast to her skill set.

"Report," Vince's demeanor was stern but thoughtful as was his style. Chloe spoke for the pair.

"We have completed all the repairs to the primary and secondary hull, so we finally have a ship that floats."

Jake smiled proudly affirming Chloe's statement.

"Nice work, both of you," Vince stated affirmingly. "Now where are we with the engine?"

Chole nodded as she continued.

"The good news is Jake, and I replaced all the piston rings and finished the engine rebuild without an issue. But one of the motor mounts is broken. It's causing the drive shaft to warp whenever we take the engines above thirty percent power."

Vince nodded looking concerned.

"Well, we can't limp all the way to where we're going. Can you fix it?"

"Yes-" Jake said defiantly.

Chloe gave him a stern look.

"What seems to be the problem?" Vince stated flatly.

Chloe spoke without taking her eyes off Jake. "The problem is the engine has to be lifted and held in place while the replacement welds set."

"So just jack it up and get it done. Where's the problem?" Vince said.

"We tried," Chloe said shaking her head. "There's isn't enough room in the engine compartment."

Jorge shrugged. "Can't we winch it from above? Maybe use a counterbalance or some extra manpower?"

Jake interrupted. "Chloe and I already know how to fix it. I'll keep it in place from underneath while she does the repair. She just doesn't like the idea of me getting stuck if something goes wrong."

"Not stuck Jake, crushed," Chloe said with a look of worry on her face.

"What if we got a couple of strong guys like Jake down there?"

Vince's suggestion was met with a short sigh from Chloe.

"There just isn't enough room. We have less than a meter to work with. No, Jake's right. I'm skinny, and best with a torch, and he's the only one strong enough to keep the engine steady while I make the repair."

Jake smiled. "Thanks for the compliment."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Don't thank me yet. Even with the leaks fixed and the pumps running there is still going to be water in the bilge. You'll have to breathe through a hose while your laying underneath the engine."

Jake grinned looking at Chloe. "I wonder if I'd drowned first or die from blunt force trauma?"

Chloe punched Jake in the ribs. "Don't you worry Jake it will be neither. Because if you try to die on me, I'll stab you with a screwdriver."

"Cause of death... Blood loss. Sounds cool."

Vince chuckled. "Sounds like you've got a plan. You two get it done and be careful."

Both nodded and prepared to walk off. Jorge glanced off in the distance to where he landed their stolen aircraft.

"Damn shame we can't take the Berg Hermano. I can think of a hundred ways a plane with stable hover capability would come in handy where we're going."

"Yeah, well unless we figured out a way to strip it down and turn it into a flying gas can I don't see it happening, Jorge. Your pirated assault plane will have to stay here with the rest of WCKD."

Chloe stopped and turned abruptly.

"Actually... Maybe not."

* * *

"Thomas, you were right you ugly shank! That place was crawling with cranks!"

Minho spoke while smiling as if just got off a rollercoaster. Frypan leaned over from the passenger seat.

"Hey Thomas, how come you didn't let me drive?"

"No reason Fry."

Thomas finally lets out a sigh of relief he'd been holding in since they entered the tunnel. Now that it was behind them, both vehicles were running at full speed towards Last City. All Thomas could think about was what's next.

 _*Gally. I've gotta find him, and it would be nice not to get blown up by WCKD's rocket launchers in the process...*_

Brenda's voice played over the radio.

"Nice driving Thomas!"

Thomas grabbed the radio and glanced in the rear making eye contact with Brenda who was driving the car behind him.

"Thanks, Brenda. You too."

"I was just following your lead. Good thing you know what you're doing!"

"Hey, we should come to a cliff overlooking the city in a few minutes. We'll stop there."

"You got it, Thomas."

Static buzzed as Brenda disconnected. Thomas was having a harder and harder time not finding Brenda cute. Even though, they were just friends a telling smile started its way across his face.

"You like her, don't you?" Newt said with a grin.

"Who Brenda? No man, it's not that, it's just... She believes in me, and she isn't shy about it."

Minho laughed. "That's not all she isn't shy about. When we found you guys back at that party, you practically had your head in her mouth. I'm sure Teresa _loved_ seeing that."

"Wait, what?"

Thomas turned his head so quickly to look at Minho he had the pull the wheel back hard to keep from going off the road.

"You guys saw that?"

"Fraid so Tommy. Got more than an eye full from the catwalk above when we were trying to spot ya both."

"Shit..." Thomas said flatly.

Frypan and Minho started laughing like a pair of hyenas.

Minho put his hand on Thomas' shoulder as he spoke. "What Thomas, you didn't know your girlfriend caught you red-handed? As far as I'm concerned, it serves that traitor right."

Thomas felt the muscles in his jaw begin to tense up.

"Minho, you don't know what you're talking about."

"Um, actually I do Thomas. I had a lot of downtime to think about it while I was sitting in a white jail cell for twenty-three and a half hours a day for the last three months."

Thomas sighed again but for a different reason.

"Minho, can we just skip the lecture for now."

Minho shook his head and spoke up. "Actually Thomas, this has got to happen. We all get the plan, and we're onboard otherwise we wouldn't be here, but for your own sake you need to know Teresa is _never_ going to be our side."

Thomas locked up the brakes sending Minho crashing into the back of Fry's seat and Newt practically into Fry's lap.

"Shit Tommy! Are you trying to kill us!"

Brenda had to swerve to avoid hitting the guys vehicle.

"Newt if I wanted to do that all I'd have to do is lets things play out as they did before."

Thomas focused on Minho as he continued. Fine, let's do this. You think Teresa is a traitor well she _isn't_. Guess what? She's the _only_ one of us who's not running right now; she's the _only one_ **NOT** thinking of herself."

Newt spoke haltingly. "...Tommy, I ain't trying to piss you off. But how do you square that her selling us out to WCKD?"

Minho nodded. "Well I _am_ trying to piss you off, and I'll say what Newt's too nice to say. For some chick that's _so concerned_ with saving lives, Teresa sure gets a lot of people killed. If you disagree maybe you should ask Mary-"

Thomas erupted out of the driver's side door and started walking around the passenger rear side. Minho matched his move and exited the vehicle walking towards him.

"I should have knocked some sense into you before. Sorry about this Thoma-"

Before Minho could finish his threat, Thomas swung on him connecting with his jaw. The wild punch leveled him. Minho spun from the momentum of the blow as his eyes rolled back and shut. After seeing Minho fall like a ragdoll into the sand, Fry raised his hands like he was surrendering.

"Uh Thomas, I just wanna say I had nothing to do with this, and I like your driving." Fry quipped nervously.

Newt jumped out of the car door to tend to Minho. After verifying he was knocked out but ostensibly fine, Newt shot to his feet and approached Thomas who was still in a fighting stance. Brenda's vehicle came to a screeching halt, and the girls started bounding out in unison. Harriet spoke first.

"What the hell is going on guys?"

Newt raised his hand as if he knew adding more energy to this situation would only make matters worse.

"Ladies, Tommy and Min were just having a bit of disagreement over directions."

Brenda marched past Newt to Thomas' side.

"Are you ok Tom?"

"Don't call me Tom!" He snapped.

Brenda looked crestfallen and began to withdraw slowly.

Newt had heard enough.

"Look, Tommy, I didn't want to do this in front of present company but you ain't givin' me no choice. Listen to yourself alright? You're angry at Teresa, and you're taken it out on all of us. And I get it, your tryin' to save my life and hers but no one asked you to do that. And if this is how you justify treating your friends this way then maybe you and Teresa are cut from the same cloth after all."

Thomas shook his head. His eyes were full of angry tears.

"Look, we... We just need to stick together for a while longer, and you'll see I'm right about Teresa. She's with us."

* * *

Sonya turned and raced down and high passage within the shifting walls of the Glade Maze.

"Shit!"

The path suddenly changed. The floor began to narrow as the walls close in on both sides. Aris looked on helplessly from ahead. He called out to her.

"RUN SONYA! Don't say a word just RUN!"

Sonya's lungs and legs were burning in equal measure. She could feel her body beginning to fail her as she was taking ever longer strides to speed up.

"ALMOST SONYA! COME ON!" Aris' shouts of encouragement sounded like a megaphone as his voice echoed between the high stone walls.

Sonya was almost clear when her furious pace pushed her slightly off balance. Her shoulder clipped the wall and she tumbled to her hands and knees.

"ARIS!"

She cried helplessly with her hand outstretched. Aris immediately ran towards her as the walls closed, crushing them both.

The black of the crushed space was slowly replaced with odd bright lights and the methodical beeping of machines.

"Another failure."

A technician in a white coat said matter of factly as both Aris and Sonya convulsed while suspended in their simulation harnesses.

Teresa sighed.

"What's the beta production level up to?"

"Up fourteen percent." The tech replied.

"Still not enough," Teresa said shaking her head as Ava Paige entered the lab. "Take them off the neural stimulators and revive them, maybe a short break will improve there scores."

"I take it this isn't the first time you've killed them in the simulator today?" Paige said.

"They've killed themselves," Teresa responded coldly. "I don't understand. Even after I removed the Grievers, they can't seem to manage. _Thomas and I could have beaten this thing blindfolded_."

"Well, it's a shame he isn't here. But we can't very well focus on what we cannot control."

Just then, Aris and Sonya began to become Coherent. Sonya began whimpering softly.

Ava waved her hand, and the technicians lifted her and Aris down from the machines and placed them into side by side restraint chairs. As soon as Aris opened his eyes the tears began to fall.

"Teresa...?"

"I'm here Aris, you're both safe."

Sonya choked out words muffled with emotions.

"No, we aren't. No one who trusts you ever is."

 **(I hope you enjoyed the latest installment! If so, follow/favorite/review :) I _so_ appreciate the privilege to write for you and always will! Until next time, be good :) ) **


	7. Chapter 7

**Don't you hate how busy the end of summer is? :) Starting to get back into a good routine now. I look forward to finishing this as well as starting the movie based epilogue. Both will be full of surprises I think you will enjoy. :) I do not own Maze Runner.**

"Ok, Jorge! Just hold stable hover right there!"

Chloe called up to the cockpit as she balanced on her tiptoes juggling tools.

"Alright!" Jorge adjusted the controls. Slowly the Berg turned into the wind and assumed stable hover as he continued.

"We're in position!"

"Great! Just give me a minute."

Chloe brushed her straight dark hair out of her face and grabbed a piece of jury-rigged machinery off the floor as Jorge walked in from the cockpit and spoke.

"Now tell me again Chloe, how _isn't_ this a waste of fuel?"

Chloe smiled without out looking away from her work. She placed her hastily constructed device, which looked like some type of centrifuge, into the fuel manifold.

"Ye of little faith."

As Chloe locked the new component into place and put it online, the Berg shuddered.

"Whoa, Hermena... What'd you do to my baby?"

"-Let's find out."

Chloe hurried up to the cockpit with Jorge following in her wake. As Jorge retook the pilots' seat the irregular shaking of the craft slowly subsided and several of the Berg gauges went from orange to yellow, to green.

"Holy shit..." Jorge pressed several buttons to confirm the readings on his instruments and grinned. "Chloe, do you sleep in a magic lamp at night?"

Chloe flashed a satisfied smile. "Hihi, I gave up the itty bitty living space for freedom a long time ago Jorge. Your extended range comes at the cost of diminished hover stability. But if my math is right, and it always is, once we top off the fuel tank this thing could reach the Safehaven twice."

"You just made my day Hermena. I can't wait to show Brenda."

Chloe plopped down in the copilots' seat. Before she could take a victory lap, she noticed something on the horizon. Her mood shifted dramatically from jovial to dark as her eyes focused on something in the distant desert below.

"Jorge... What's that at our ten o'clock?"

Jorge focused his eyes where Chloe directed and pulled out a small pair of binoculars for a closer look.

"...Those are people Chloe, at least they used to be. All infected... All way past gone."

The shifting mass of humanity below was a mob of cranks so vast that it made the evening dunes look like they were alive and rolling towards the coast.

Jorge handed the binoculars to Chloe. She shuddered after the first glance at the sight of the infected. They were moving with unnatural strides that resembled insects more so than people.

"So much for celebrating. Those things are heading straight for the coast."

Jorge snapped the controls back shifting the Berg out of a hover. He spun it around and punched the engines, racing back to the harbor camp.

* * *

The final fourteen miles of the drive to Last City felt like fourteen hundred. Minho's pride was hurting worse than his jaw as he sat in the back seat starring daggers at Thomas who was driving in silence. As Thomas and the others rolled up to the outskirts of the city beyond the walls, Newt spoke.

"Alright Tommy, showtime. What do we need to do?"

Thomas sighed to himself.

*Nice man, you could have used the last thirty minutes to bring everyone up to speed, but instead, you knocked Minho out, and we all sat in awkward silence.*

Thomas choked back his pride and spoke.

"Find Gally. He's alive. He's connected with some... Some people who are fighting WCKD and they know a way into the city."

Minho spoke up. "You mean I didn't kill that guy?"

Thomas shook his head indicating 'no' without speaking.

Fry smirked at Minho and spoke in Thomas' place.

"Well, that's good news Minho. Maybe after a rematch with Gally, you can earn a title shot at Thomas!"

Fry laughed, but he was the only one.

Newt, Minho, and Thomas all gave him dirty looks of varying duration to get the point across to him that now wasn't the time for jokes.

"What, too soon? Geeze guys, lighten up." Fry protested inimically.

Thomas shook his head. "Look Minho, sorry about before. I just lost my temper..."

Minho didn't respond right away. He let silence fill the air for several moments before letting everyone off the hook by speaking.

"Don't worry about it; I was an ass. Besides, you got lucky Thomas. If I were you, I'd savor the moment because it will never happen again."

Thomas laughed which seemed to permit everyone else to laugh as well. Thomas shook Minho's hand, and the two pretended to spare as the girls' vehicle approached. Harriet jumped out.

"That's more like it. It's nice to see you boys getting along again."

"Yeah, I like that about guys," Brenda said through a smile as she dusted herself off. "They fight, they get it all out, and boom back to being friends."

Thomas approached Brenda.

"Hey, I owe you an apology too Brenda. I'm sorry about being a jerk before."

"-You mean a jackass?"

Thomas smiled awkwardly. "Yes, sorry for being a jerky jackass before."

Brenda smiled and walked past Thomas to join the others.

"Hey wait," Thomas hurried to catch Brenda and walk by her side. "Do you forgive me?"

"Ehhh, we'll see."

"What are you serious? What was all that about liking how guys get things out and boom, back to being friends?"

"That's how guys handle stuff, but we sometimes hold grudges."

Brenda leaned over to whisper into Thomas' ear.

"And in case you didn't notice, I'm a girl."

Brenda spun away from Thomas with a coy smile and joined the rest of the others. The group found itself in some kind of post-apocalyptic parking lot littered with abandoned vehicles as several large men approached.

Thomas cursed under his breath as the men approached.

"What's wrong Thomas? Were those guys not here before? Minho said.

"No, it's just that Jorge talked us all past them."

"What'd he say, Thomas?" Brenda asked quickly.

"That's just it; it was like they were talking jibberish to each other. Next thing I knew they let us off without a hassle."

Brenda nodded vigorously with wide eyes.

"I bet it's thieves cant! It's like a language they use in the scorch underworld."

The largest of the five men approached with his hand up as the rest blocked the path.

"Where you from?" The filthy man spoke through an insincere smile revealing several gold teeth.

Brenda stepped up to him confidently. "From the outpost in the lightning desert. Here to play jacks for keeps."

The men all laughed incredulously, apparently surprised.

"Jacks for keeps? A bunch of kids with a little girl for a leader?"

Brenda squared up with the golden tooth man.

"We're looking for the Mayor because we have business with the Devil."

The man crossed his arms a faint cloud of dust emanated from the sleeves of his coat.

"Here to fight WCKD huh? Well, if you and your friends had gotten here a few months ago, I'd have told ya you're all in the right place. But anymore, all we do is fight for the scraps from Paige's table."

The man with the gold teeth dismissed the others and then motioned with his head to the massive wall beyond. As soon as Thomas saw the walls bristling with missile turrets, he felt a chill run down his spine. Approaching the wall was one of the times he knew there was a credible chance one of his friends could get killed for merely standing in the wrong place. The man started leading Brenda and the others towards the outer city as he continued.

"And the man you're looking for doesn't take meetings. With outsiders or otherwise."

Thomas stepped up to walk alongside Brenda.

"What about a guy named Gally? Do you know where we could find him?"

The man rubbed his chin.

"Gally? Never heard of him."

With that, he walked off after making a hand gesture to Brenda which she duplicated in return.

Once they were alone, Thomas shook his head in frustration. "Shit, I was hoping he could have at least pointed us in the right direction."

"He did," Brenda said as she turned to the east and started walking quickly.

Thomas starred quizzically at Brenda as the others hurried to join them.

"What was that about?" Minho said.

"Honor among thieves," Brenda said through a wry smile. "Come on; your friend is this way."

With that, Brenda marched definitively towards a nearby building with Thomas and the others following in her wake.

* * *

Aris and Sonya raced down a long hallway which ran between the holding cells and the upper portion of the research lab. Even at night, WCKD Tower had enough security on standby to occupy a small neutral country. And if that wasn't bad enough, the place was set up like a labyrinth all its own making it easy to get lost in all the identical looking workrooms and scientific laboratories. Aris had already figured out that the elevator between the holding cells and the main lab didn't go any lower than the research level. Which meant if he and Sonya we're going to have a chance to escape they'd need to find a way through eighty stories that neither of them had ever seen before.

"Come on!" Aris encouraged. "This way!"

Sonya ran past Aris, and they both darted inside a server room filled with blue light from the long racks of liquid cooler computer towers. Once the automatic door shut behind them, Aris smashed the keypad with a fire extinguisher mounted beside the door.

"Ok, I think we're safe."

Aris turned to Sonya and immediately wrapped her up in a big hug which she returned. They held each other tight like it had been weeks since they'd been together even though since being captured they seldom parted.

"Sonya, I'm _so_ _so_ sorry about all this. It's killing me that I got you into this mess."

"-Don't say that Aris. It's not like we had a choice to begin with."

"That's not true. You were following my lead. I know you'd never have agreed to help WCKD otherwise."

Sonya was quiet for a moment.

"I wasn't going to let you do this alone..."

Aris let out a heavy sigh.

"Honestly Sonya, that means everything to me, but it doesn't make me feel any better about how much it's costing you."

Just then Sonya pushed forward pressing her lips to Aris' kissing him. He deepened her kiss and held it for several moments knowing it might well be the last.

"...Wow, I take it back Sonya. I feel better already."

They smiled at each another until loud pounding on the door interrupted them. Sonya jumped behind Aris, and the pair backed further into the server room facing the cavitating door.

Aris shook his head in disbelief. "How could they have found us so fast?"

Sonya was eye level with the back of Aris' neck when it dawned on her.

"Aris! We're still tagged! I overheard the guards talking about it. We need to get these tracking sensors out!"

A buzzsaw could be heard revving to life from the other side of the hastily sealed door. The screeching sound made by metal on metal preceded a round serrated blade bursting through the center of the door at ceiling level. It began downward, slicing methodically through the safety locks on a path to the floor.

"No time now! We have to find another way out of here Sonya."

They both quickly searched the room to no avail. One of the computer interfaces nearby abruptly backlit with bright green light making it stand out against the dominant blue color of the rest of the room. Sonya hurried to console.

"Aris! Look!"

Aris hadn't been more than two steps away from Sonya since they broke out of their cells, so he was already looking at the screen as Sonya continued.

"It's floor plans for the level we're on! This blinking light must be our current location."

As Sonya looked closer, a text message appeared in the rectangular dialogue box at the very bottom of the screen.

 _ **They can only track you in the corridors. Follow the green lights. ~A Friend.**_

The dialogue box went blank as the lights surrounding the console returned to blue. The entire server rack pivoted slowly until a panel in the floor was exposed. The door slid open revealing a wide air duct illuminated with a green light from inside. Sparks hurled from the main doors as the saw blade cut cleanly through the last remaining deadbolts and the dull sound of a hand battering ram resumed.

Aris grabbed Sonya's hand and started lowering her down. Once she was safely inside, he braced himself against the sides of the square metal passage and slid down like a ninja making his escape. As soon as both made it, they laid down flat beside each other and remained motionless as the panel closed and locked back in place. Aris could hear the wall-sized rack above pivoting back to its original location. Moments later the sounds of men yelling for their surrender was followed by heavy footfalls racing all throughout the server room in a grid search pattern. Several tense minutes passed before either of them realized they'd been holding hands the whole time. Sonya whispered to Aris.

 _"You know, this seems like an awful lot of trouble to go through just to get a girl alone Ris."_

Aris leaned over and put his mouth next to her ear.

 _"I guess that depends on the girl."_

With that, Aris squeezed Sonya's hand as they traded silent glances bathed in green light. After a moment a look of irony flashed across Aris' face as he continued.

 _"And all I had to do was pull you into a bad situation, expose you to high levels of emotional stress bordering on torture, and put your entire life in danger. What a Prince I turned out to be, huh?"_

Sonya smiled, _"You're a Prince too! My mom would be so proud!"_

They both laughed under their breath until another voice they recognized could be heard above.

"Okay... Now let me get this straight. You got outrun by the same kids who've been strapped to tables for the past two days going through Teresa's fun house?"

Aris' eyes went dark.

 _"It's Janson! I'd recognize that weasel's voice anywhere."_

Sonya shushed him trying to hear the guard's response but her focus went instead to the sound of new footsteps approaching from the main doors. They were lighter and had a different sound than the boots worn by the WCKD shock troops. The next voice they heard was Teresa's

"So you lost them? In your own building, in your own department, with all your people surrounding them you managed to lose the two most critical assets we have left?"

"We didn't lose anyone, they're here!" Janson replied defensively.

Sonya and Aris couldn't hear the entire exchange but it was clear Teresa was getting the better of Janson.

The green light went out and illuminated a section of the tunnel further down. Aris looked at Sonya.

 _"I guess that means its time to go."_

Sonya nodded as the pair rolled onto their stomachs to begin army crawling towards the light but just before they shoved off Sonya tapped Aris on the shoulder.

 _"Ris."_

"Yes, Sonya?"

Aris turn to face Sonya in time to be ambushed by another deep kiss that tasted even sweeter than the first.

"For luck," Sonya said with a wink. Then the pair began moving along a path to the unknown.

 **(Hope you enjoyed it! More soon. I am still very motivated for this Fic. If you like things readers Follow, Favorite, or even post things in the review section. Until next time, be well!)**


	8. Chapter 8

**(Hope this starts every one week off well! I'll never give up. :) This fic is very special to me and always will be because it started one of the most important chapters in my life ;) I am very gratified to have you reading and I mean that. THANK YOU! :) I do not own Maze Runner)**

The sun was setting outside the harbor camp as the Berg came in for a landing. It's hasty approach got Vince's attention. He marched out to meet Jorge and Chloe at the end of the uneven runway. He crossed his arms impatiently as the engines winded down.

"Hey, what'd I tell you about leaving that thing out in the open? You know WCKD owns the skies and they have more of those looking for us, right?"

The rear cargo hatch wasn't even fully lowered before Chloe and Jorge raced out.

"No time Hermano! We got an army of cranks heading this way!"

Chloe continued. "Enough to tear this whole place down Vince!"

"Shit... How close?"

"Twenty minutes? Maybe thirty if we're lucky." Chloe said.

"Why would a bunch of infected be coming here?" Vince was speaking between breaths as the trio turned and ran to a nearby vantage point.

Jorge pointed into the distance. "It's the mountains Hermano, they are funneling them right towards us. Maybe they're looking for water but I don't care if it ain't personal, I'm not hanging around to make friends."

Vince nodded. "Chloe, can you and Jake get us underway?"

"The hull is ready. The engines still need work. I guess we could make repairs on the way but-"

"- **Yes or no?** " Vince said forcefully.

" **YES,** " Chloe's demeanor bristled with force to match Vince's assertion as if she took it as a challenge. " **Jake and I can make the repairs at sea!** "

" **Good,** because we're out of time. Chloe, get everyone on the ship. Jorge, get some guys from the armory and take the Berg back up. Use some firepower to slow down the cranks. I don't have to tell you we'll need every second you can give us."

Chloe and Jorge acknowledged and ran off in opposite directions. Vince stared into the ravine between the opposing mountains as the beginnings of the feral rabble came into sight. Vince shook his head.

"Sorry Thomas. Gotta go."

* * *

Thomas and the others approached a small concrete building that was the only one left standing on the entire block. All the rubble from the other collapsed buildings nearby formed a bottleneck making it a natural checkpoint leading to the undamaged buildings beyond. Brenda pointed to a ten-story parking garage one block over.

"Your friend should be in there. But that guy with the gold teeth warned me it's members only. I might be about to talk my way inside, but the rest of you should stay here."

Minho gave Brenda an incredulous look.

"You'll have to teach the rest of us how to speak crank someday."

Brenda smirked. "Believe me; it took me a while to decode all the Glader slang you boys throw around. The first time I heard you yell 'Shank' I thought there was about to be a knife fight. Where I come from, a 'shank' is something you stab someone with."

Fry chuckled. "I guess you grew up in a pretty tough neighborhood."

"Well, it ain't like the Glade was a Sunday picnic either Fry," Newt said flatly.

Thomas hurried to walk beside Brenda.

"I'm going with you."

"Afraid I might get lost, Thomas? That's sweet, but it will be easier for me to get inside alone."

"Good thing I know you don't like doing things the easy way." Thomas smiled at Brenda to soften her up. "But seriously, I'm coming with you Brenda, that's happening. Besides, you'll need me. You don't even know who you're looking for."

Brenda smiled back at Thomas and gave him a quick nod of agreement. Minho rolled his eyes. Thomas turned to address everyone else.

"Ok, you guys stay outside, try to blend in, and _stick together_. We'll find Gally, bring him outside that way we can talk without the rest of his people knowing."

"But Tommy, I thought you said it was Gally's people that were got us into the city last time?"

The smile disappeared from Thomas' face as he answered Newt.

"Not this time man. Oh, one other thing. No matter what, stay away from the main gates. WCKD ends up firing on a protesting crowd today."

"On that note. We better get a move on." Brenda said.

She started walking calmly towards the broken doors of the dilapidated concrete building. Thomas was following so closely behind her he was practically stepping on her shoe heels. The inside seemed deserted. The only passable hallway took a ninety-degree turn and ended at a metal extension ladder up leading to the next level. Thomas and Brenda climbed the ladder emerging through the hole cut in the ceiling. The next room had no windows and was lit by red colored emergency lighting placed along the floors.

Brenda grinned at Thomas. "You think it will be this easy getting into WCKD's headquarters?"

"Here's hoping," Thomas said wryly.

Thomas took the lead. He was just starting to feel like luck was finally on his side until he took the next turn and found himself face to face with a half dozen armed men. A tall guy with blonde hair racked his tactical shotgun and spoke.

"You lost kid? Because the daycare is across the street."

The blonde guy put the barrel of his shotgun into the center of Thomas' chest. Brenda quickly emerged from behind Thomas.

"Are you trying to make my boyfriend piss in his pants!"

Brenda grabbed the shotgun barrel and wrenched it away from Thomas' heart.

"What the hell's the matter with you guys?! We're friends of Gally!"

The look in Brenda's eyes as she continued to berate each of the sentries made Thomas glad she was on his side.

The tall guy with the shotgun looked Brenda up and down and then glanced at Thomas.

"Hold on, you're telling me _this_ guy is your boyfriend?"

Thomas felt himself about to protest and make his own case until he thought better of it.

"Yes! He's my boyfriend." Brenda put her arm around Thomas and snuggled up to him.

"But you're so pretty and he's-"

"He's _what_?" Thomas heard the words come out of his mouth with intending to speak them.

The blonde guy lowered his shotgun. "No offense dude. It's just that she's **way** out of your league."

Brenda smiled contently with her arm around Tom's lower back.

"That's so weird, people usually say we make a cute couple."

Brenda stood on her tiptoes and gave Thomas a peck on the cheek.

Thomas had never seen a hostile group come around so quickly and all it cost him was a little self-confidence. The next thing he knew he and Brenda were being escorted to the roof. Brenda winked at Thomas and leaned in to whisper in his ear.

 _"Fake it until we make it, ok boyfriend?"_

Thomas smiled but didn't answer. Once they got to the roof they blonde guy pointed to an improvised footbridge made from five wooden telephone poles lashed together. The bridge extended over a deep chasm in the rubble that Thomas couldn't see to the bottom of.

"Your friend will end up across the way once he gets back."

Thomas turned to face the blonde boy. "Wait, he's not here? Where is he now?"

"He will be after a while. There's a big protest at the wall because WCKD keeps changing the rules, now you have to be a resident to even enter the city. He'll be back after its done."

Thomas closed his eyes in frustration so tight that it hurt.

 _*Damn you, Gally.*_

* * *

Teresa arrived at her apartment overlooking the center of Last City. She hung up her jacket, got a glass of water from the kitchen, and sat down at a workstation in her home office. Instead of logging onto the WCKD computer network she opened a drawer and pulled out a white leather-bound book and began writing.

 _August 9th - Just got back from a meeting with Chancellor Paige and the governing council. Ava was right to have me attend. I can't believe how close the representatives came to abandoning the search for a cure in favor of adopting a siege mentality. After all of the terrible sacrifices, we can't turn back now. Besides, with Flare airborne, soon there won't be any such thing as a safe sanctuary._

 _Fortunately, I was able to report that the trials with Sonya and Aris are now yielding promising results after slight modifications to my methodology. My working hypothesis was that paired survival situations involving immunes with romantic connections would increase motivation and improve results. It turns out Sonya and Aris' blood is as compatible as they seem to be. The real-time collection of samples during the simulation make a single serum possible. For the first time, the benefits of complementary but unique immunogenic profiles can be preserved within the same dose. The first test taken earlier today yielded the highest levels of Flare antibodies ever measured. Ava said it's the biggest breakthrough in Flare research since the original serum and that I should be excited, but I'm not._

 _What bothers me is that Tom and I always tested higher on every metric than Aris and Sonya; or for that matter, anyone from group A or group B. I can't help but wonder if **we** were the keys to ultimately ending all of this. And because of what I did in the scorch, all I accomplished was to destroy any hope of him trusting me enough to realize it. Now that he's got Minho back, I'm sure he thinks there's nothing left for him here. Vince will have them all convinced to head north past the mountains or west across the sea. Flee somewhere that WCKD has no presence. _

_The truth is, ever since Janson reported the attack on the supply train, I can't stop thinking about Tom. I know it was him even if Janson denies it. He's is the only person who could pull something like that off. Sometimes I catch myself wondering what he's doing. If he's happy now that he's away from all this. Ava volunteered to remove my memories of him to help me concentrate. Maybe it would help. But if all I have left of him is those memories then they're priceless to me... I'll never give them up even if I should. Even if he never thinks of me again I won't let myself forget._

Teresa closed her journal with a sigh and placed it back in the drawer.

"He's probably steaming towards some tropical island with Brenda right now."

Just then and beeping sound played from the intercom mounted near Teresa's apartment door. She walked to the panel and hit a green button.

"Yes?"

A guards voice spoke back to here.

"Sorry to interrupt but there's been a problem in holding. Aris and Sonya have escaped."


	9. Chapter 9

**(Thank you for reading! I Hope you enjoy it :) and that your week is starting _very_ well! I shall likely post again before this week is over as I find myself with some extra time ;) I do not own Maze Runner)**

The next thing Brenda knew she was chasing after Thomas without knowing why they were running.

"Thomas! Hold on!"

He showed no sign of stopping. Thomas called back as he was pulling away.

"Stay here!"

Brenda didn't comply. Instead, she sped up in pursuit.

"Where are you going?!"

Thomas didn't have the time or the breath to explain himself. He knew the last time Gally escaped unharmed from WCKD's rocket attack at the wall. But something told Thomas that the truckload of armed guys would have done more than skulk around in the crowd if Gally hadn't spotted him and started following him and his friends.

 _*I don't want Brenda near this.*_

Thomas resolved the only way to protect Brenda was to leave her safely behind. Without a word, he cut down the concrete stairs leading from the highest landing then jumped railing after railing until he reached the bottom level.

"Thomas wait, slow down!"

He figured once he lost her, she'd have no choice but to join back up with the others. As Thomas rounded a corner exiting the parking garage, he was back at street level. He turned and raced down an adjacent alley before Brenda could even make it outside. Stretching out into a full sprint he flew passed overfilled dumpsters and jumped over a stack of broken wood pallets emerging on the opposite street where people were marching towards the wall, Thomas glanced back at the alley and saw nothing, no sign of Brenda giving pursuit. He pulled his hood up over his head and melted into the crowd.

"That wasn't so hard," Thomas said to himself.

The next thing he knew he felt someone pull on the side of his jacket. He looked to see Brenda, out of breath but smiling, beside him.

"Nice try," She said panting.

Thomas shook his head as Brenda continued speaking.

"-Isn't this right where you told everyone not to be?"

Thomas sighed exasperatedly. "Brenda, I was trying to keep you clear of all this!"

"That's a really nice way of saying, ditch me." Brenda smiled as she walked alongside Thomas towards the crowd gathered ahead. "At least this settles one thing."

"What's that?" Thomas said.

"You might be fast, but still can't get away from me. I wonder why that is?"

Brenda's eyes sparkled as she posed her rhetorical question.

Thomas' smirk faded into a smile.

"Well, when this is all over, we can have a real race and then we'll see.

"Oh, I know you're faster than I am Thomas." Brenda quipped with a teasing look in her eyes. "Anyway, why'd you take off?"

"I gotta find Gally. He's here somewhere. If he gets killed, we'll never make it inside the walls in time to find, uh, find Teresa."

Thomas felt a chill race through him seeing Brenda's muted reaction to him mentioning Teresa's name. Thomas continued.

"I mean, we need her to make the serum before Newt runs out of time."

Brenda's mood boosted slightly, even if it was just for the kindness of Tom's attempt to disguise his interest.

"Great, but where do we start? There must be thousands of people here."

"He'll be armed and wearing a gas mask. At least he was last time."

Brenda scanned the crowd.

"You mean like those sketchy looking guys over there?"

Thomas glanced in the direction Brenda indicated to see four guys standing in a parked Jeep with gray tape wrapping the roll bars. Thomas observed the guy in the back seat on the driver's side had the right stature to be Gally and was wearing a gas mask.

"I think that's him!"

The noise from the crowd jeering made calling out to Gally impossible. Thomas and Brenda were fighting there way through the crush of people moving towards the gates when Thomas heard it. A low rumbling of giant machines whirring up overhead. He knew what was about to happen.

"Shit! We gotta move Brenda!"

As Brenda looked up, she turned white as a ghost. "Those are the missile turrets?"

She was speaking directly into Tom's ear as they weaved through the crowd. "Somehow I pictured them a lot smaller."

They were almost close enough to shout.

"GALLY!" Thomas called at the top of his lungs. "GET DOWN!"

He turned and looked in Thomas' direction. Hearing the familiar voice calling out to him from the crowd he pulled up his gas mask. Thomas never thought he'd be so happy to see a dirty look on someone's face. But it was him, it was Gally, and he recognized Thomas too. Just then Thomas heard a whizzing sound race past him from overhead. Gally's Jeep roiled with blue electricity as the missile hit. The resulting shockwave knocked everyone within ten meters over like dominos. Thomas was at the very edge of the blast's event horizon. He only managed to keep on his feet with Brenda's support from behind. Thomas could feel the residual electricity in the air as if it was arching between the fillings in his teeth. As Tom's vision cleared and he started taking in the scene.

 _*This is all wrong.*_

He could see the Jeep on its side, and Gally draped lifelessly over one of its rollbars. Brenda thought Thomas seemed dazed, so she grabbed his hand and led him over to Gally. Together they pulled him free of the wreck and started dragging him away with one of his arms over each of their shoulders.

"Ugh! Thomas, couldn't you pick a lighter friend to get us inside the walls?"

Carrying Gally felt like lugging an anchor across wet sand. Thomas could hear strange sounds like static crackling behind him, but couldn't turn back to look. It was all he and Brenda could do to remain upright. Somehow they made it to an alley and took cover behind a twisted vehicle frame. As Brenda looked over Gally Thomas took in the chaotic scene of the street from the alley.

"He's breathing Thomas. I think he's just stunned."

But Thomas couldn't look away. Nothing was right. Brenda could see the questions adding up in his eyes.

"What is it, Tom?"

Before Thomas could answer, he saw six WCKD guards carrying shock launchers like they'd seen used before back in the Scorch.

"We gotta get out of here; they are rounding everyone up!"

Thomas pulled up a manhole cover up near his feet. The smell it released was like hot garbage and feces mixed. Brenda turned away wretching.

"No choice," Thomas said shaking his head.

Brenda rolled her eyes and took a deep breath like the clean air was the last breath she'd take before going underwater.

Gally started to regain consciousness. He opened up his eyes and winched from the rancid stink.

"I guess I kinda owe you this Gally."

"Thomas? ...What the hel-"

Thomas cut Gally off by lifting his legs and dumping him headfirst back into the sewer. Kicking and screaming in freefall, Gally landed with a mucky splash.

"That felt good," Thomas said.

Brenda smirked and ripped a length of cloth from around the bottom of her t-shirt giving herself a mid-drift. She tied the length of cloth over her mouth and nose.

"Want one?"

Brenda put her hands on the ragged bottom of her shirt jokingly.

"I don't think you've got any more shirt to spare Brenda."

Brenda batted her eyes at Thomas with a mischievous look.

"No secrets between friends, right?"

Brenda started down the grooved ladder built into the side of the sewer, Thomas followed.

"What can I say, Brenda,"

Thomas pulled the manhole cover back into place as the pair descended into the darkness.

"-I like mysteries."

* * *

Teresa walked down a long glass hallway towards the location security had called her to. She'd been told they'd lost tracking on Sonya and Aris. She could feel the emotional conflict building inside her. Part of her was livid.

 _*How could he let this happen? Could Janson be any more incompetent?!*_

But even as she was silently cursing Janson and mentally selecting his replacement. She felt her pace quicking from the excitement. Part of her couldn't resist the feeling of Hope building inside of her. She knew Aris and Sonya were smart, but they couldn't escape without help.

 _*There's only one person I know who would dare attempt a rescue on the eighty-seventh floor of WCKD headquarters.*_

Teresa felt herself glancing at the guards in the hallway wondering if it was Thomas inside one of those helmets. The idea that he could be close by was exhilarating. Even if she had to keep telling herself, it was just for the opportunity to attempt the tandem trial simulation with him. She approached several guards standing outside the forced door leading to a server room.

"Report."

A guard with red hair parted on the left side answered.

"At 0137 hours the locking mechanism was deactivated on holding cells four and five simultaneously. Moments later, internal sensors picked up subject three and subject seventeen moving through the halls. Their signal terminated at this door at 0145. A suppression squad responded to the location and found the door sealed from within. The team forced entry and completed a sweep of the room."

"So you found nothing? How can that be?"

"There was too much magnetic interference from all the computers inside. Even with their implants, tracking them within the room wasn't possible."

"Where's Janson?"

The ginger guard motioned into the server room. Teresa marched inside, and her eyes found Janson almost immediately.

"So you lost them? In your own building, in your own department, with all your people surrounding them you managed to lose the two most critical assets we have left."

"We didn't lose anyone; they're here!" Janson replied defensively.

"Wonderful. Point them out to me."

Teresa stood in front of Janson with her arms slack at her sides. She tilted her head slightly as she moved closer, imploying her own brand of menace. Making no attempt to protect herself as she spoke to the man she knew to be infected with Flare.

"-Because from where I'm standing you've outlived your usefulness."

Teresa's posture radiated utter confidence in the face of Janson's slippery demeanor and historical volatility.

"Look, Teresa, you don't know what you are talking about. Someone must have tampered with the holding cells. It's the only explanation."

Teresa nodded and turned her head.

"Guards. Take Director Janson to cell four and hold him there."

Janson's eyes went wide with rage as he clenched his trembling fist. Teresa didn't flinch. Instead, she starred cooly back at him in spite of his eroding mental state.

"You can use the time to look for clues. Until further notice."

Teresa reached out her hand and took a .45 caliber handgun off Janson's belt.

"A smart guy like you won't be needing this."

The red-haired guard walked up behind Janson.

"Sir, uh, this way."

Janson smiled at Teresa.

"You know I thought you were smarter than Thomas."

Janson didn't protest further or offer resistance. He turned, flanked by guards on all sides and began walking to what was to become his holding cell.


	10. Chapter 10

**(The ventilation tunnels inside WCKD Tower. Aris' POV)**

If I was claustrophobic, I'm pretty sure I'd be having a panic attack by now. Sneaking around behind the walls and above the ceilings of WCKD Tower was like being back in the Maze only smaller. So far, we were safe. At least for now. I gave Sonya a boost into the next air duct. She reached down and helped pull me up. We were a good team like that. We'd been following the green lights for twenty minutes without any further contact from our 'friend'.

"Aris, do you have any idea who's helping us?"

I shook my head.

"At this point, nothing would surprise me. I'm still not entirely sure this isn't just another test. After all, this is kinda like the simulations Teresa had us doing."

Sonya stopped suddenly and turned to me.

"-Quick, kiss me."

"What? Why?"

I felt instantly stupid after I said that.

"Just kiss me! Make it a good one."

So I kissed her. I wasn't Romeo or anything, but kissing Sonya felt like second nature to me. I was _unjustifiably_ good at it. I could tell she thought so too. We kissed for a long time. Long enough that we found ourselves standing in the dark together after our guide had gone ahead without us.

"Nope, not a simulation." She said.

Sonya turned and hurried along the maintenance catwalk chasing the green light. I followed two steps behind her.

"How can you be sure?"

She gave me a sexy smile from over her shoulder as we took a turn.

"Because I can't get turned on in the sim."

I was so shocked it took my ears a few seconds to convince my brain what Sonya just said to me.

"...Wait, what did you say? I turn you on?"

"I don't think I should elaborate. A girl has to keep her secrets."

I was speechless. I just kept following her as we squeezed past some power conduits. Back when we were in our Maze, Sonya and I had always been close. Other than Rachel, she was practically my best friend. And something told me, we could have been even closer. The fact that Rachel was gone and never coming back made me feel guilty. Not only for getting this far but knowing how excited I was that Sonya was with me. When we arrived at the central elevator shaft, a nearby service panel was blinking. It caught my eye right away because the text was written in the same shade of green as the light which led is here.

 _ **Ride it down to the 14th floor. Take the corridor and go east. Follow the pipes.**_

The message blinked off and the lift started to move immediately. We barely had time to get on safely. The next thing I knew, it was dropping so fast I thought it was falling. Sonya grabbed my hand.

"Aris?"

Somehow I stayed cool and even managed to keep track of the numbers painted on the wall between floors. I looked in Sonya's eyes.

"Together OK? We'll have to jump. -NOW!"

She squeezed my hand tighter and we jumped away as the elevator whooshed down into the dimly lit shaft. Sonya made it no problem. But I landed off balance and started to slip back.

"ARIS!"

I tried to let go of her hand. I couldn't bear the idea that I wouldn't drag her down with me. But Sonya wouldn't let go. She had a death grip on my wrist. If she'd yanked any harder, I think my arm would have come out of its socket. I flew forward onto the platform landing beside her in a full-sized dark hallway. The next thing I knew Sonya was hugging me from beside.

"DON'T SCARE ME LIKE THAT!"

I'd never been so happy to be yelled at.

"S-sorry. I lost my footing."

"Why'd you let go of me?! I could have lost you!"

"I just didn't want you to fall too on account of me."

Sonya looked heartbroken as she chose her words.

"...Aris, listen to me. Whatever happens to us, is going to happen to both of us. Do you get me?"

I nodded as we stood up together.

"Deal."

She smiled and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"Good. Let's go."

There were no lights in this hall. The only saving grace was the pitch black hallway was normal sized was clear from as far as we could see. We held hands as we walked into the darkness together. No sooner then we were too far to turn back, a pair of emergency doors locked into place behind us cutting off any residual light from the elevator shaft.

"Great, how are we supposed to follow some stupid pipes when we can't see anything?"

I nodded without thinking. It wasn't like Sonya could see me anyway.

"It's not like we have a choice now, let's keep moving.

I felt an air current flowing from somewhere on my right side. I reached my arm out and felt around. When I stretched out as tall as possible I felt a pipe directly overhead. It was running in the same direction as the flow of air.

"This way."

Sonya and I moved slowly, dragging our feet to prevent tripping and falling into a pit or something. After what felt like forever but was more like five minutes of baby steps, we saw the outline of a closed room with lights on inside. As we approached, a green panel lit up beside the door.

 _ **"I've been delayed. Wait inside."**_

 _ **~A friend.**_

From the dim light of the panel, I could only see the door handle. I pulled it open and bright white light flooded the entire corridor. I covered my face from the glare. While my eyes were still adjusting I heard a scream, it was Sonya. I felt her grab onto me without knowing why she did.

"Aris, what the hell is all this place!?"

Then I saw it. The light from the open door revealed that the hallway we'd just came through was lined with glass incubation tubes on both sides. Inside each tube was adolescent grievers curled up and floating in a clear viscous jelly.

"-Let's not find out."

We rushed into the bright room and slammed the door behind us. As soon as the shut the door I heard magnetic locks clank into place.

"Looks like we're trapped again."

I scanned the small room. There was a large white desk surrounded by a high semi-circle of hundreds of holographic displays curving over the workstation like an incomplete dome. Each display was different. Some had live streams from rooms in the within WCKD Tower. Some showed building schematics and personnel files. Sonya examined one of the consoles.

"Is this a security office?"

I sat down in the tall high backed chair and picked up the nameplate from the desk. I showed it to Sonya.

"I think this is _the_ security office."

The nameplate read; _A. D. Janson._

* * *

 **(The sewers outside the wall; Thomas' POV)**

I could still hear the attack continuing above. From all the shouting I could tell they were rounding up everyone. None of this made sense, it was from before.

"Thomas, he's waking up," Brenda said.

I looked at Gally as he opened his eyes. He reached suddenly for something on his hip but came up empty.

"Looking for this, tough guy?"

Brenda held up the handgun she'd lifted from him. Gally looked back at me.

"Surprised to see me? He said defiantly.

"Actually, not even a little you ugly shank."

I helped him up.

"Listen, Gally, we need your help. We have to get into the city to save Sonya and Aris but Lawrence can't be involved. Can you get us in without him?"

He narrowed his eyes at me.

"How do you know about Lawrence?"

"Look, man, it's a long story but things around here are about to go _really_ bad. Flare has gone airborne, WCKD is cornered, and _a lot_ of innocent people are about to die."

Gally shook his head.

"Aren't you pissed off abou-"

I punched him in the face as hard as I could.

"- _That's for Chuck.._. Now can we get going? You need to get us to the tunnels that lead inside the city."

Gally didn't hit back. He stood rubbing his jaw for a few seconds.

"I guess I had that coming."

"I'm glad we agree but will you help us?"

The sounds of electromagnetic explosions continued from street level.

"I can get you two in but without Lawrence knowing it'll be a one-way trip and we'd have to do it right now."

Brenda shook her head.

"Why right now? We just saved your ass. In my world, that means _we_ name the terms."

Gally walked up to Brenda and looked down at her.

"...The reason is Lawrence will have his hands full picking up the pieces after this. But, in case you didn't notice, you're in _my_ world now chica."

I walked up and hooked my arm around Brenda to pull her back.

"That's enough. He's with us. Let's go."

Gally pulled out a flashlight and clicked it on.

"Right this way."

 **(More soon. :) Hope you are enjoying it)**


	11. Chapter 11

**(Harbor camp; Vince's POV)**

"Everyone on the ship! Move it! Move it! Move it!"

I grabbed my radio.

"Jorge, what's the holdup? Get that Berg in the air! If you don't put some fire on that swarm, the only passengers on this barge will be a bunch of well-fed cranks!"

The radio buzzed with static.

 _*Don't worry Hermano, I'll light em' up.*_

I ushered the last two stragglers up the ramp. It was an older teenage boy and girl. They were adjusting their clothes, but both still looked disheveled. I'd bet a new box of 9mm ammo I knew what they'd been off doing. I guess I can't blame young people for what comes naturally. But that didn't mean I could let it slide either. Even if I wouldn't enjoy handing them both two extra work shifts as punishment, it was going to happen. This wasn't the time to be screwing around. We needed discipline and like it or not, that begins and ends with me. I thought we'd have two more days to make repairs and gather supplies. But those cranks from the desert had other ideas. Now we were out of time. I ran up the narrow wooden ramp we'd been using to get from the pier to the ship and kicked it lose so no uninvited guest could follow. The deck was chaos, except for Harriet. She looked as focused as a kid playing Nintendo while she scanned the frantic arrivals, marking up a notepad with a broken pencil.

"Harriet, what's the count?"

She gave me a thumbs up.

"237, 238, 239, That's everyone! Vince, we're good to go!" She said without looking up.

That's when I saw it out of the corner of my eye. The cranks, pouring down the dune at the far edge of the camp. They were running so fast that they kept tumbling forward only to get trampled into the sand by the others. It was like watching the most savage parts of human nature rolling toward us like some tidal wave. Except this was an unnatural disaster.

"Cut the ROPES!" I yelled.

A couple of the new guys grabbed fire axes and chopped the mooring lines free. I turned back to Harriet.

"I need you to get a handful of your best sharpshooters up here just in case. I'm not slow-boating past all those construction cranes without some way to fight back if those cranks start getting pushy. Tell em' not to fire unless they have to. The sound will only attract more."

Harriet nodded to me.

"I'll need Vivian, Andrew, and those 20 cal rifles we found."

"You got it, throw em' a party. As for everyone else, get below deck, move!"

With the other heading down, I hurried up the rusty grate metal staircase which leads from the main deck to the bridge and ducked inside. As soon as I closed the door, I took a deep breath because it was time to switch gears.

"Ok, fellas, just like we practiced."

I had to keep my shit together in here. My crew on the bridge was made up of the youngest immune survivors — the ones too small or weak to fight or do more dangerous work. But these kids had spent more of their young lives at the controls of games then I'd spent doing anything. So we made it work. But it also meant I couldn't expect these kids to respond well to a grown man screaming in their face. My helmsman was an eight-year-old blond boy we all just called 'E.' The little guy had blue eyes and a face like an angel. I had a feeling he was going to break a lot girl's heart in paradise when he grew up. Right now, it was my job to see that he got the chance.

"Take her out E, nice and easy."

E had to kneel in the seat to reach the controls. He pushed the two throttles levers forward slowly, and the ship started to move. A cheer came up from the three other boys on the bridge, but it didn't take long to notice the boat was pulling to the left. I looked at E. He toggled a switch off and on and reset the levers.

"It's not my fault! I'm doing it right. The port engine isn't working at all."

I got on my portable radio.

"Engine room, Bridge."

 _*...*_

"Engine room, Bridge. Respond."

 _*...*_

"Chloe, Jake, come in!"

I saw E reach over to another boys station and spin the wheel for the main rudder to the left. He adjusted the power level on his engine controls accordingly, and the ship started to straighten out. The cheers began again. I couldn't help but be impressed. The little man was already hitting way above his weight class. Good for him.

"Captain Vince, I can keep us on course in the harbor. But with just the one engine, we can't maneuver passed the breakwater. We need both, or we'll hit the rocks."

"Ok guys, I better get down to the engine room and get E, his engine."

I latched the deadbolt on the exterior door to the bridge.

"Keep this locked. Don't let anyone in until we hit open ocean. You boys got me?"

They all nodded. I hurried to the down staircase at the front of the room.

"Hey E."

The boy looked at me pushing his wavy blond hair out of his face.

"You've got the bridge man."

The eight-year-old kid's smile beamed. It gave me heart just seeing that. The future would need leaders like him a hell of a lot more than old men like me. But it felt good to know that I could set him up to succeed. Even if that just meant staying out of the way. I headed below deck on my way to the engine room...

* * *

 **(The streets of Last City, after sundown; Teresa's POV)**

The joy of having Janson tossed into a holding cell by his own people, was short lived. Almost immediately after, I got word that a little girl I'd treated with the new hybrid serum was succumbing to symptoms of Flare. I went to her, but it was too late. After that, I rechecked the data to see if I could find any way to improve the formulation. But no, all my models showed no potential for improvement. It was another dead end. I left the Medical Lab and kept walking. I wasn't sure for how long, or how many blocks I covered when a WCKD soldier wearing a full combat gear stopped me.

"Excuse me, Miss. Masks are mandatory in public. Where's yours?"

I dug in my purse and showed him my ID badge. He scanned it to confirm who I was but cleared me to go without another word. It wasn't that I worked for WCKD or even that I was a senior researcher that he gave me a pass. It was three little letters at the bottom right corner of my ID; 'imm.' That meant I was immune.

I walked passed a movie theater which was ordered closed. The four double doors under the old style marquee awning were sealed with magnetic locks. The city government had banned large public gatherings ever since airborne Flare was discovered inside the walls. There was WCKD personnel at every main intersection. They were scanning the crowds walking home from work for anyone with a fever. I watched them pull a woman wearing an orange dress into a hazmat quarantine vehicle while others looked on, only to go back to there business as if nothing happened. All the people walking past me were wearing surgical masks. Some looked scared. Some seemed annoyed to be told what to do. Others were acting normal like they had no idea what was about to happen. But I knew, and it was my fault.

I stopped at a busy intersection feeling so disappointed in myself I should have been crying. But instead, I felt completely numb. I'd had a lot of practice selectively ignoring my feelings since Thomas and I parted on the worst terms imaginable. I'd been telling myself for months that a little self-deception was fine because it kept me working. That the work would ultimately justify all the sacrifice. And what I accomplished would allow me to enjoy what I wanted, even if by then, I never got to have it. Then I looked up and suddenly it felt like that part in a dream where exactly what you want is right in front of you. In my case, he was staring at me from across the street.

"Thomas?"

He was standing there looking right at me. Not smiling, just staring. Maybe my eyes were playing a trick on me because I wanted to see him so badly. A bus passed between us before I was sure he was even real. Once the street cleared, he was gone. I only saw what might have been the back of his coat, melting into the crowd. But I had to know. I hurried across the street after him. My shoes weren't right for running, but I couldn't help myself. I chased after him. When he turned a corner, I saw his face again. It was Thomas, I knew it! He looked right at me and kept walking. That box I'd kept my feelings locked away in felt like it had been pushed over and flung open.

"Thomas!" I called out to him.

He didn't respond. He kept moving but faster now. He walked out of the crowd and across an empty vestibule. The only sound I could hear was my high heels echoing off the marble floor and high ceilings. He disappeared around another corner. When I got to where I last saw him he was gone. I kept walking down the long empty hallway afraid to call out again for fear it would prove I'd been chasing a ghost.

"Hello?..."

I was about to give up hope when I heard a voice.

"...Hey, Teresa."

It was him. He stepped out from behind a pillar.

"Thomas?! What are you doing here? If Janson found out you were here-"

"-He won't. Not this time. Because you and I are leaving right now..."

 **(More very soon - I needed to switch POV for the rest of this scene. Hope you are enjoying it :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**(Last City at night. Thomas' POV)**

I had a plan when I went to find Teresa. I knew where to wait for her. I knew when to be there. I'd gone over what I'd say to her in my mind _a thousand times_. But as soon as I was close enough to touch her none of that mattered. Seeing her in real life, knocked the wind out of me and every coherent thought went with it. All I could think of was how pretty she looked. We walked through an underground tramway station without saying a word until she broke the silence.

"Thomas, don't you want to ask me anything?"

No was the answer that came to me, but I kept it to myself. We'd had this conversation once before, and I didn't want to get back into it. Teresa continued.

"Like why I did it?"

I felt fresh anger stirring inside me. I just opened my mouth and words came out.

"Teresa, save your justifications. I don't care if you thought you were doing the right thing. It _wasn't_ right."

I could see she was crushed, even as I pretended not to look while we were jogging up the marble stairs. I'd just picked the most cutting words possible and unleashed them on her. Teresa's eyes were glassy with unfalling tears. She cleared her throat.

"Th-then why would you want me to come with you?"

Again, I spoke without thinking.

"-Because, I need you... To make serum. It's for Newt. He's infected."

She stopped dead in her tracks on the next landing of the ascending staircase.

"Newt? But how could that... Oh my God. He was an experimental control, wasn't he?"

I nodded.

"That's so heartless."

"I'm surprised to hear you say that."

I stopped, turned to Teresa, and crossed my arms.

"-Shouldn't you be explaining how it's all just means to an end? That if it takes guys like Newt dying to save the world than its worth it? And if it keeps jerks like Janson pumped full of serum in the process, well then that's ok too. Right?"

All of the sadness in Teresa's eyes transformed into anger as I spoke. If looks could kill than the one Teresa gave me shaved at least twenty years off my life.

"How do you know about Janson's getting infected?"

I shrugged on purpose.

"It doesn't matter Teresa."

"Yes, it does _Thomas_. What aren't you telling me?"

"If I say, will you promise to come with me?"

Teresa crossed her arms.

"No."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"No? ...What do you mean _no_?"

"I mean **no**. I'm not committing to anything without knowing what's going on Tom!"

I rubbed my face out of exasperation.

"Teresa, we don't have time for this! Alright, now walk."

She narrowed her eyes, squared her hips, and leaned back against the wall crossing her arms.

" _No_. I'm not taking another step until you be honest with me."

"Fine!"

I picked her up and tossed Teresa over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes. I started up the next flight of stairs.

"Thomas! _Put me down_!"

She was lighter than I remember, how she got even skinnier since the Scorch was beyond me. She was trying to wrestle free, but it wasn't working. I had an unfair advantage. She was dangling upside down. Her, strong slender legs already pinned in my arms. Deprived of one of her best assets by someone who knew her well, she was ostensibly trapped.

"You know if I let go, you're going to fall on your head down two flights of stairs, right?"

I kept climbing.

"I'm serious Tom! Put me down _**now**_!"

I crossed the next landing. I could have set her down, but I didn't. I was enjoying reminding her that I was bigger than she was, so I kept climbing steps. She struggled harder, but I wasn't giving in.

"You're going to have to do better than that Teresa."

Provoking her when I knew I had the upper hand was even sweeter than I expected. If she was going to be difficult, so was I.

"You're being such a jerk, Tom!"

I kept at it.

"Not so tough without an entire army behind you, Teresa."

She stopped struggling for a split second, and her body went slack. A moment later she pulled up my shirt and grabbed my sides with both hands. Her hands felt like _ice_.

"AAAAaa _aahh_!"

It was like she knew right where to find an off switch I didn't realize I had. I immediately started to fold up and double over at the top of the steps. I felt her pull free. I rolled over to get back on my feet but the next thing I knew Teresa was on top of me with her knees pinning my arms down.

"You think I _wanted_ us to be on opposite sides of this?! You think I _wanted_ to break your trust?!"

She yelled in my face with tears still building in her eyes.

"Do you think I wanted to let- _everyone down, Tom?_ "

I watched the dam inside her break as Teresa collapsed forward onto me. Her sapphire eyes released a flood of tears to drown me in. As she convulsed with each sob, she relaxed the vice grip her legs had on me. I lifted my back off the concrete with her still straddling my lap and wrapped her up in my arms. Sitting alone together in the recessed light of the staircase landing, she cried a month worth of tears in minutes.

"...Teresa, you didn't let the world down. I don't think you even know how to fail..."

She gave me a confused look, still awash in grief.

"You found the cure, alright? That's what I was going to tell you after you promised to come with me. can we go now?"

Teresa shook her head.

"Tom, what are you talking about? I haven't found anything. I just watched a little girl suffer horribly after my best attempt to treat her failed. All I did was compress a week's worth of symptoms into her last few minutes. That's what I've managed to accomplish, Tom."

I starred into her eyes.

"Teresa, can you tell if I'm lying to you?"

She sniffed and wiped her nose.

"Yes. I've been able to do that since we were kids."

"Then, look into my eyes. _You found the cure for the Flare. It's me; it's in my blood_."

Teresa looked me in the face and studied my eyes intently. Then she felt my head.

"What are you doing?"

"Checking you for fever. You might be delirious."

She was only half joking. I pushed Teresa hands away from my face and held them in my lap, looking her in the eyes.

"Teresa, I'm not sick or crazy or messing with you. You found the cure. I'm it."

She kept her eyes fixed on mine. Slowly I could see a new hope begin to flicker in her eyes as we helped each other to our feet.

"Ok, let's say I believe you. How'd I figure it out?"

I motioned for her to keep walking. She followed me as we kept talking.

"-You put it together after you saw Brenda healthy. I told you she hadn't had a treatment since the one Mary gave her back in the scorch; you tested a sample of my blood. That's how."

"Thomas, none of that happened. Until I saw you across the street, I assumed you were thousands of miles away on some beach with your girlfriend."

"I don't have a girlfriend, Teresa. And if you don't believe me about Brenda being cured, test her."

Teresa's eyes lit up a little when I said I didn't have a girlfriend. Only to fade when I mentioned Brenda's name again.

"Brenda's with you? -Never mind, of course, she is. It doesn't matter. Thomas, I need to get you to my lab. We need to start testing the antigens in your blood."

"-No, that's _exactly_ what we _aren't_ doing. I'm not taking you near that building again. Besides, Newt needs us. He's in bad shape, Teresa. He can't wait."

"Why does the building matter?"

"-It doesn't. Forget I mentioned it."

The look in her eyes told me she caught my slip, but she didn't pursue it.

"Thomas, I'm all for saving Newt, and _we will_. But it can't stop there. If you're right about being the cure. Then all of this is almost over. WCKD has the infrastructure we'll need to produce the cure on mass."

I shook my head.

"You see, this is exactly why I didn't want to tell you first. I knew you'd go all _savior of the world_ , on me."

"Thomas, there are almost two hundred thousand people living in this city. We _can_ save them if we hurry."

"Teresa, please listen, **_we-have-to-go_**!"

She knew I was serious, but I knew she'd given up everything for her principals at least once before. I'd wanted to avoid this. It was a fight I knew we couldn't settle and now wasn't the time to try again. The moment I raised my voice I felt her demeanor shift. The look in her blue eyes went so intensely angry that they looked almost red for an instant.

"Since when does it mean more to you to be right than save innocent people, Tom? Are you so concerned about proving WCKD wrong that you are determined to run away and hide from this?!"

Something snapped inside of me.

"Run and hide? _Are you serious_?! I'm with you in the shadow of the tallest building I've ever seen, and it has **WCKD** stamped on the side of it! So tell me again how I'm hiding?"

"I'm not talking about what you're up to right now. I'm talking about your endgame Thomas! You think it's ok to leave the rest of the world to die so long as your friends are safe. Well, that's not me! And that's not the Thomas I remember!"

I grabbed her by both shoulders as we emerged onto the street.

"Teresa, airborne Flare is inside the city! There's a faction camped just outside the gates with enough explosives to punch a hole in that wall! Not to mention, Janson is going crazy from Flare, and he practically runs this place!"

Just then, I saw two figures dart out from around the corner and the taller one put a black bag over Teresa's head before she could respond.

"-I can see you're just as good with people as you used to be Thomas."

It was Gally.

"Come on, let's go, Thomas! There are Tag drones all over this place." Brenda said.

Teresa's muffled voice yelled as she kicked Gally repeatedly. Brenda grabbed the purse Teresa dropped and rifled through it.

"Come on guys! This way!"

Gally and I carried Teresa as Brenda led the way. We cut through alleys until we ending up at a fancy high-rise apartment. We waited until the street was entirely clear before we entered the empty lobby.

"This is it. Oh my God, she has a private elevator..."

Brenda pulled out a key card and swiped it over a panel and the elevator doors opened and the digital voice of a woman spoke a greeting.

 _*Teresa Agnes, welcome home.*_

We all enter the lift as the doors closed behind us...


	13. Chapter 13

_(Just wanted to thank new readers to this story llUnholyll, NikitaQuinn, daphnedijsselhof, Dollwing, sman4thewin, Jamescarrothers14, magicaedraconis, DNA2337, JoSamm, EvilDannyBoy97, FeralG3, wargamingpl5a, spiralsnstars, ItzJayNae, jerskylar, Black-Dragon-Rider, Eragon95159,_ S _usuki90, Civic26, Abi Olivera, Amran, Icyflame108, and cavallo94. Thank you for the follows/favorites/reviews etc. They are always appreciated. Hope you enjoy this chapter. I do not own Maze Runner)_

* * *

 **(Last City; high rise penthouse. Teresa's POV)**

The bag over my head smelled awful. Like a mix of sweaty guys and bad breath. To me, that was worse than not being able to see or hear. The effort it took to keep from throwing up made me lose track of the direction they were taking me.

The next thing I felt, we were rising fast. Maybe a lift? I tried harder to focus on my surroundings, but I couldn't hear much. I made out three separate voices. One was Thomas. As for the other two, all I could tell is it was another guy and girl. I wasn't scared, at least not exactly. I figured as long as Thomas was still with me, he wouldn't let anyone hurt me. But then again, I could be wrong. Maybe what I did back in the Scorch changed him. Hurt him so much the person I used to trust without question was really gone. If that was true and he didn't care what happened to me, then Tom's name would top a long list of things the Flare took from me. My mother, my friends, and even my self-respect. It wasn't just what happened in the Scorch. It was every moral compromise that led up to it. Once I decided the ends justified the means, I laid the first brick. And what's the saying? The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Since then, I'd used the pain of everything I lost to keep myself going. Turned it into fuel to fight harder to find the cure. Just blamed the disease for the things I had to do to stop it; like I was the only girl in the world who managed to lose her mind to a disease, I was immune to. That's how it felt.

Suddenly I got tossed down into an office chair and started blindly rolled across the floor. I felt two sets of hands zip-tying my wrists and ankles around something metal. So much for not feeling scared. I guess it's my fault for letting my guard down. I heard loud talking. It sounded like Tom. I couldn't make out what he was saying, but it sounded like he was arguing with the guy who just put me down. Maybe he didn't like seeing him get rough with me? That's what I was hoping at least. I needed any edge I could get.

My chair got shoved sending me spinning violently in circles. I tried to drag my foot to stop moving, but they had my bindings too tight so I couldn't reach. I kept spinning even after I stopped rolling. It was the dizziness that did me in. That combined with the smell ruined me. I started getting sick. All I'd had to eat that day was a small salad, but with the bag on my head, it felt like I was being waterboarded with my own vomit. I couldn't breathe. I started to panic and yanked hard against the restraints around my wrists but couldn't get free. I still heard yelling, but it sounded further than before. Maybe they had left the room. Just my luck. I don't know how much time passed, but I got more desperate with each second. Just before I was about to pass out someone ripped the bag off my head and I heard a girls voice.

"...Yuck."

I coughed violently, gasping for air. I tried to focus on the face of my rescuer but my vision was blurry from lack of oxygen. What I could see was obscured by the bright light shining in my face.

"-You've got lettuce in your hair."

I recognized the voice but hoped I was wrong. It wasn't until she lowered the flashlight and my eyes adjusted that I had to accept it.

"Brenda?"

She pulled up a chair and straddled it facing me.

"Hi, long time no see." She said picking a bit of lettuce off my cheek and quickly wiping off her fingers on my coat.

Once I caught my breath my first thought was; _why did it have to be her_. Nothing like the _only_ other girl in Tom's life seeing me at my absolute worst. I never thought I'd say this but, even Minho would have been preferable. My second was; she did look healthy. Just like Tom said.

"-Brenda, tell me, how are you feeling?"

"Uh, clearly better than you are."

"-Is it true? That you haven't had a treatment since the one Mary gave you?"

"It's true that thanks to _you_ , I was the last person Mary _ever_ treated."

Just then, Thomas marched back into the room followed by a guy wearing a hood pulled over his head so I couldn't make out his face.

"You don't know what you're talking about greenie. We can trust Lawrence; he knows what he's doing. The whole time you were trying to figure out what side you were on, he's been taking the fight _to_ WCKD."

"Listen to me, Gally. He's not interested in Paige, or Janson, or the whole goddamn building! He'll destroy this entire city to accomplish what he wants."

"Wrong again Thomas. Getting our people back into this place is the point. Janson's been putting healthy people out of the city for months. Anyone who can't afford to live like your girlfriend over there."

Brenda smiled at me. "He isn't talking about me. I've slept on a dirt floor every night for the last three months."

"I like her," Gally said.

Thomas looked over and saw me in my pitiful state.

"Jesus... Uh, are you ok?"

Between the vomit all over my face and the shock of seeing Gally back from the dead to harass me; I only nodded, hoping to preserve what was left of my dignity.

Gally crossed his arms and continued. "Lawrence was the _only_ faction leader that didn't run off into the mountains and hide. Instead, he stayed as close to the real fight as possible."

Thomas took his eyes off me. As he did, the concerned look evaporated from his face. He spun around.

" _And why do think that is Gally?_ Do you think he just loves being on the front line? He needs to stay close to the serum WCKD's making. What do you think he's planning after WCKD is gone huh? Prune his roses until he gets back to full term? Lawrence has a death wish! He'll take this entire place down with him."

Gally shook his head. "Look, it doesn't matter anyway. I already sent him a message. It's done."

Gally turned and left. Thomas stormed off behind him looking more freaked out than ever. I watched Tom as he hurried to resume his argument with Gally in the next room. Brenda rolled her chair in front of me to break my line of sight and came to a full stop.

"You were in love with him weren't you?"

I tried to blow a strand of wet hair out of my face, but it stayed stuck to my chin.

"It doesn't matter."

"See, I kinda think that it does."

"-That's where you're wrong. This is so much bigger than Tom. It has to be."

"You know, for having so much experience doing it, you're a really shitty liar. Thomas may not be your priority, but don't act like he isn't part of your endgame."

"He's _everyone's_ endgame Brenda. If he is the cure, then you were the first person he saved. That's important; it makes you special."

Brenda sighed and shook her head at me with an acerbic smile.

"Wow. You have a _really_ screwed up idea about what makes people special. We are so different. I don't understand how Thomas could like both of us."

"Wait, _what_?"

Brenda smirked.

"I wouldn't worry about it. Like you said yourself, it doesn't matter."

I tried to remind myself this was bigger than two girls having a scratching match over a boy, but the look on Brenda's face made me wish my hands weren't tied to the chair.

"You want to use him."

" _Excuse me_?" Brenda bristled.

 _"-You heard me_. I know you aren't stupid Brenda. Tom's the best guy you've ever come across. But you only like him for the easy reasons. He's handsome, funny, and there isn't an ounce of fat on him. I get it, you've spent a long time in the Scorch. Probably throwing yourself at every jerk who crosses your path."

"- _I want to use him?_ This coming from the girl who can't wait to strap him down to an operating table? If I tied Thomas down to anything, it would be a bed and even then, only for a fun reason."

"Thanks for making my point. All you can think about is getting your fingernails into his back."

"-Teresa, what makes you think I haven't already?"

The thought of her having sex with Tom made me feel like throwing up again. I wanted to call her a liar, but there was no point. After three months with him, there was nothing I could say that she couldn't refute. Just then, Gally hurried back in.

"Hey, new girl."

Brenda looked up.

"We need someone with small hands to help us reach some wires. You game?"

"Sure. Just a minute."

Gally nodded and doubled back into the other room. Brenda stood up slowly.

"Hmmm, out with the old and in with the new."

She gave me a confident smile before turning to follow Gally.

"Hey Brenda, just so you know. There's a lot more to Thomas than his body."

She kept walking and spoke without looking back.

"Maybe, but it's one hell of a start."

* * *

 _(I appreciate your patience I've been so deep in other projects lately I've been neglecting this. BUT I'll be posting more soon on both this and my Syllabus story. As always, I honored to have your attention. Thank you for reading me)_


	14. Chapter 14

**(Outskirts of Last City. Newt's POV)**

It was gettin' dark. Tommy and Brenda had been gone for six hours with no word. For Minho, Fry and me, it felt like sittin' on the devil's doorstep waitin' to get noticed and dragged back into Hell. We were looking for a place to hole up for the night, but between the bloody drones and the gangs of shady looking locals, we weren't havin' any luck.

"This is bullshit," Minho grumbled. "If I knew Thomas was going to ditch us I would have stayed back at the boat."

"Just keep moving. If we get tagged or spotted by the cameras, feeling useful will be the least of our problems." Fry said.

He was right. But there was another problem. Now that the sun was down, I could feel myself getting more and more paranoid. It was all the bloody shadows. Every one of em' was startin' to look like a Griever or full term crank. But instead of scaring the bejesus out of me, it just pissed me off. I felt like someone had their dirty fingernails scratchin' around the inside of my head leaving every nerve ending raw. For the moment, I had it under control. But if this was a preview of coming attractions, I hope Tommy gets his ass in gear and doubles back quick.

"Hey guys, you seeing what I'm seeing?"

Fry motioned to our left. Another group of guys was walking parallel to us on the other side of the street.

"They don't bloody look like they're with WCKD," I said.

"I don't care who they're with. For all we know, they'll try to sell us to them. Next alley, take a right. Newt, you gonna be ok if we have to run for it?"

"Well, between my high fever and shucked leg, what could go wrong?"

We turned the corner and started running. My head hurt like hell, but the weird thing was my leg felt fine, strong even. It looked like we'd be getting away clean until the alley we ran down dead-ended with a huge pit too dark to see into. I grabbed Minho and yanked him back, so he didn't fall. But I had so much adrenaline flowing through me when I did; I sent him flying back ten feet. Guess I didn't recognize my own strength.

"Holy shit Newt!" Fry shouted as he ran back to help Minho up.

"Sorry Shank! I-I don't know what happened."

"...Don't mention it, Newt. I'd rather get tossed like a bag of garbage than fall to my death."

Just then, the group following caught up to us. There were nine of them. All armed like some bloody crank militia. They formed a line with weapons drawn. Not a bloody one of them said a word until an older guy's voice broke the silence.

"Impressive... Gally didn't mention one of you was half cranked."

Minho stepped forward.

"Yeah, Gally doesn't mention much since he's dead, asshole," Minho said defiantly.

 _"How the hell does he know about Newt being infected?"_ Fry whispered.

The old man stepped forward passed the other. In the dim light, I could see him. Most of his nose was missing, and the side of his face was spidered with hollow skin growths like vines. He looked us over with a cloudy eye.

"Don't worry Frypan. Let's just say; it takes one to know one. You can call me Lawrence..."

* * *

 **(Last City; high rise penthouse. Thomas' POV)**

I was sitting alone in Teresa's office fuming. Gally and I had been arguing since we got to her apartment. He really was the same asshole I met back in the Glade. The only difference was now he had a cause and a gun. I'd been trying to explain to him since the sewers, that we _needed_ Teresa to help Newt. That she was the only person who would be willing to remove the ID tags in our neck, so we had a fighting chance to get into WCKD. But all that went out the window the first chance Gally had to get a word to Lawrence. He managed to piggyback a signal out undetected using Teresa's computer. Gally walked back into the room.

"The new girl seems nice. Are you two together?"

"You mean Brenda? Why the hell does everyone ask me that? No, just friends."

"Good. I like her better already."

"-Forget that for now Gally. What did you tell Lawrence in your message?"

Gally ignored me at first. He was focusing on pulling some wires out of the wall behind Teresa's work console.

"I told him I had some friends that needed shelter for the night. He'll make sure our people find Newt and the guys before WCKD does. I also told him that in a few hours, we'd have WCKD Mainnet Axcess. Security protocols and all."

Gally pointed at the bundle of cables he'd pulled out of the wall.

"I didn't think a hardline connection existed outside of WCKD Tower. Your ex-girlfriend really is a V.I.P."

I pushed Gally and slammed him against the wall, pinning him by his collar.

"-Why the hell would you do that Gally!?"

"Listen, Thomas. Minho and Fry were Keepers. Newt was the number two guy after Ably for God sakes. You don't know the kind of bounty that brings from WCKD. If they are just strolling around outside the wall, then they will get picked up and sold back to WCKD. That's a fact. You might be some half-ass rebel leader now or whatever. But it's just like it was back in the Glade. You don't know shit about how things work around here. And, as usual, I'm trying to keep people from getting killed while you figure it out."

"You mean the place _you'd still be_ if not for me."

"-Yeah Greenie, that's the one. And remind me, how many of _my_ friends would still be alive if you hadn't pissed off your WICKED pals and gotten tossed in with your lab rats?"

" **Screw you, Gally**. I know Chuck would still be alive if you weren't such a goddamn coward!"

I wanted to knock his ass out. And if there were time, I would have. But more importantly, I knew he was about to set the same events in motion that destroyed Last City before. Gally wouldn't believe me if told him. I'd have to find another way. Just then Brenda walked in.

"...Hey, am I interrupting?"

Gally and I both said 'no' at the same time. I shook my head. "I gotta get some air."

I walked passed Brenda and out the door. The next thing I saw was Teresa still tied to her office chair. She looked miserable. Her eyes found the floor the moment I entered the room. For a moment, I stopped caring that I was pissed at her.

"Hey, um, are you ok?"

Teresa peeked up at me.

"I've been better." She said.

I pulled a knife off my belt and bent down. I cut the restraints on her feet first and then her hands before I looked up at her.

"Let's get you cleaned up."

She looked at me skeptically and slowly moved her feet to verify she was free.

"What are you doing Tom?"

I stood and held out my hand to her.

"Trusting you Teresa."

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(Happy Reading! leave a review if you enjoy the story thusfar :)


	15. Chapter 15

**(Right Arm Headquarters; Newt's POV)**

Even before they took the bag off my head, I sensed they were leading us underground. It wasn't just that the air around me was getting cooler. Somehow, I could just tell. And for some bloody odd reason, knowing that calmed me down. My head even started hurting less. As soon as we got here; wherever _here_ bloody is, Lawrence's people took our masks off and said we'd be free to move around the complex as long as we didn't try to leave. They told us they would get us something to eat and showed us to their mess hall.

"You ok Newt? You're lookin' kinda pale." Fry said.

"Yeah, Fry. Don't worry about me Shank. You ain't gettin' rid of me that easy."

As we walked, we got our first look at the place. I was right about it being underground but this wasn't like that sand-swallowed hell hole we ended up in after breaking out of WCKD's outpost. No, this place was built as a cellar on purpose. I overheard one guy saying it was part of a water treatment plant for the city before the walls went up. Whatever it used to be, it looked like a bloody fortress now. The doors were reinforced steel that seemed to lock automatically when closed, and everything else was made out of the same shade of gray concrete as the Maze. In a couple of places, I saw the letters W-C-K-D crossed off the walls with graffiti. I did my heart good to think whoever these guys were, they were actually taking ground from WCKD.

"For a post-apocalyptic rebel base, this place doesn't look too bad," Minho said.

He was right. It wasn't that anything in this place was making an effort look pretty, but it didn't look like a bloody refugee camp either. If Lawrence was the man in charge, he ran a tight ship.

"Man, I couldn't even keep my kitchen this clean," Frypan said.

Eventually, we made it to a big room with a bunch of mismatched tables and told to wait here. Five minutes later, the same guy returned with a pot of noodles and some plates. The food smelled alright. But trying to eat it made me nauseous. Minho and Frypan didn't seem to have the same problem. Those two could probably eat a pair of Tommy's old runnin' shoes and still ask for seconds. Watchin' them just made me feel sicker.

"Fellas, I'm gonna go find some air."

Minho nodded.

"Ok man-" Frypan mumbled with half a mouth full of food.

I left off by myself and wandered around to clear my head.

The main corridors were lit with fluorescent lights hanging overhead. I took a turn down a smaller hallway. It was darker, but I could still see fine. At least, until some guy with a flashlight practically blinded me. It was some stocky fella wearing coveralls that didn't fit. He fell back like I'd jumped out at him and yelled _boo_.

"Whoa! Why the hell are you wandering around in the dark!?"

As my eyes slowly adjusted to his light I realized just how dark it was. Like pitch black. But I could make out details in the darkness I never could before. I saw him reachin' for something on his belt. It looked like a gun.

"Wait!, uh just wait-"

I tried to grab his wrist but he pulled back. He pointed the flashlight back in my face. The bright light in my eyes felt like an icepick. It hurt so bad my vision went blurry. I lost my balance and ended up on my hands and knees as the room started spinning. I felt like gravity turned sideways and the only thing keepin' me from slamming through the brick wall beside me was my grip on the bare floor. Everything went black...

Next thing I remember I was on top of some guy who'd been beaten to a pulp. His face was so swollen there was no recognizing him, He was clutching his throat like he couldn't breathe. I stood up.

"Hold on! I'll get ya some help!"

He squinted at me through the only eye he was able to open. He looked terrified; like I was some bloody monster. I saw a couple of guards runnin' my way from the end of the corridor.

"Hurry!" I called out to them. "This guy's been beat bad! I don't think he's gettin' enough air!"

I turned around to let him know help was almost here.

"You're gonna be fine. Just rela-" I felt a massive knock on the back of my head. Everything went black again...

This time when I woke up I was restrained in a dark room with a bunch of makeshift medical machines around me. My head felt like a bomb had gone off inside it. That's when I heard the man's voice.

"Believe me Newt, I know _exactly_ how you feel,"

It was Lawrence, all I did was shift my eyes to look at him because it hurt too bad to say a bloody word.

"-The first time is always the worst time."

"W-where... Am... I?"

"Safe. For now. But for how long depends on you."

"Why a-am, I... Tied up?"

"That's how civilized people deal with killers. And since you beat one of my maintenance engineers to death in _spectacular_ fashion, you are now my problem to adjudicate."

"Wa-wait... That wasn't me."

Lawrence's cheeks curled back into a sinister smile. I could see missing teeth where part of his upper jaw had rotted away.

"If you don't believe me look at your hands."

I turned my palms up and glanced down slowly. They were covered in dried blood. It was caked under my fingernails. I shut my eyes hoping it was all a bad dream. Wishing the nightmare could just be over.

"But I believe there is _still_ hope for you Newt. That's why we're having this little chat instead of my guys taking wagers on how many bullets it takes to kill you. If you accept my offer then your luck is about to change for the better."

When I opened my eyes Lawrence held up a small vial of purple liquid. I forced myself to speak clearly even though it hurt.

"If I'm a murderer who killed your man, why bloody bother to help me?"

"-I never said you were a murderer Newt, I called you a killer. There's a difference. A father defending his child can become killer but that hardly makes him a monster. Killer's are merely reacting to their circumstances. _Murderers_ orchestrate the circumstances to achieve their own ends."

Lawrence moved closer with the vial and continued.

"You killed an innocent man, yes. But you are _both_ the victims of men playing God. Caught up in the aftermath of their arrogance. I have dedicated my entire adult life to destroying their unnatural order while they try to control who lives and dies based on prejudice and class bigotry. I find this concept objectionable."

My head hurt so bad I thought I was about to die. But I couldn't keep myself from speaking.

"- **So do I**."

Lawrence reached up and placed the purple vial in my IV.

"Then Newt, together, we will punish the _real murderers_."

 **(Hope you enjoy! More soon :)**


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